40% of Indian Parliament Members : Out of the 763 members of Parliament (MPs) in India, a shocking 40% have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW). The data has been extracted from affidavits filed by the MPs before contesting their last elections.
40% of Indian Parliament Members : Out of the 763 members of Parliament (MPs) in India, a shocking 40% have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW).
The data has been extracted from affidavits filed by the MPs before contesting their last elections, revealing a troubling trend in Indian politics. Additionally, 25% of these MPs have declared serious criminal cases, including murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women. This report delves into the details, highlighting the states and political parties with the highest number of MPs facing criminal charges, as well as the average assets of MPs in India.
40% of Indian Parliament Members Have Criminal Cases Across States
The state of Kerala tops the chart with the highest percentage of MPs, at a staggering 73%, who have declared criminal cases in their self-sworn affidavits. It is followed by Bihar, Maharashtra (57%), and Telangana (50%). Bihar leads in the category of MPs with serious criminal cases, with 50% of its MPs facing such charges, followed by Telangana (9%), Kerala (10%), Maharashtra (34%), and Uttar Pradesh (37%).
40% of Indian Parliament Members Have Criminal Cases : Party-wise Data
Breaking down the data by political parties, it is revealed that 36% of the 385 MPs from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have declared criminal cases against themselves. In the Congress, 53% of the 81 MPs face similar charges, while 39% of the 36 MPs from the Trinamool Congress (TMC) and 75% of the 8 MPs from the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI(M) have declared criminal cases. The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has 27% of its 11 MPs facing such charges, while 42% of the 31 MPs from YSRCP and 38% of the 8 MPs from the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) also have criminal cases against them.
Nature of Criminal Cases Against Indian Parliament Members
Among the criminal cases declared by the MPs, 32 have cases of ‘attempt to murder’ (IPC Section 307), indicating serious charges. Alarmingly, 21 sitting MPs have declared cases related to crimes against women. Out of them, 4 MPs have declared cases related to rape (IPC Section 376), a deeply concerning statistic.
Average Assets of MPs
The average assets per MP from Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha combined amount to ₹38.33 crore. Interestingly, the average assets of MPs with declared criminal cases are higher, standing at ₹50.03 crore, while those with no criminal cases have average assets of ₹30.50 crore.
States with Highest Average Assets of MPs
When it comes to the average assets of MPs based on their states, Telangana emerges as the leader with 24 MPs having average assets worth ₹262.26 crore. It is followed by Andhra Pradesh (36 MPs) with average assets worth ₹150.76 crore and Punjab (20 MPs) with average assets of ₹88.94 crore.
Party-wise Average Assets of MPs
According to the report, the average assets per MP for different political parties vary. For instance, the 385 BJP MPs have average assets of ₹18.31 crore, while the 81 Congress MPs have average assets of ₹39.12 crore. The 36 TMC MPs have average assets worth ₹8.72 crore, while the 31 YSRCP MPs have significantly higher average assets, worth ₹153.76 crore. Additionally, 16 MPs from the Telangana Rashtra Samiti have an average of ₹383.51 crore in assets, while the 8 NCP MPs have an average of ₹30.11 crore. Finally, the 11 AAP MPs boast an average of ₹119.84 crore in assets.
Vacancies and Unavailable Affidavits
It’s important to note that there are currently four vacant seats in the Lok Sabha and one in the Rajya Sabha. Furthermore, four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir are undefined. The affidavits of one Lok Sabha MP and three Rajya Sabha MPs were not analyzed as their affidavits were not available.
This report sheds light on the concerning prevalence of criminal cases among Indian MPs, revealing the need for greater transparency and accountability in the country’s political system. It also highlights the disparities in wealth among MPs from different states and political parties, underlining the diverse landscape of Indian politics.