Indian MPs under scrutiny: ADR report highlights 40% with criminal cases, Kerala leads the pack

By Team Newsable | First Published Sep 12, 2023, 5:00 PM IST

Even more disconcerting is that among these MPs with criminal cases, approximately 194 (25%) are implicated in serious criminal cases. These encompass charges related to murder, attempted murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women, among others.

A recent report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) has unveiled a concerning statistic: out of the 763 Members of Parliament (MPs) in India, a substantial 306, or 40%, have declared criminal cases against themselves. The data for this disheartening revelation has been gleaned from the affidavits submitted by the MPs before contesting their most recent elections.

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The state of Kerala emerges at the forefront of this troubling trend, with a staggering 73% of its MPs admitting to criminal cases in their self-sworn affidavits. Following closely behind are Bihar, Maharashtra (both with 57%), and Telangana (50%).

Delving deeper into the data, Bihar claims the highest percentage of MPs involved in serious criminal cases at 50%, followed by Telangana (9%), Kerala (10%), Maharashtra (34%), and Uttar Pradesh (37%).

Looking at the political landscape, the figures also reveal a disconcerting pattern. Among the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MPs, 36% out of 385 have declared criminal cases, while 53% of Congress MPs (81 out of 81) have similar declarations. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) stands at 39%, the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) at 83%, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) (CPI(M)) at 75%, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) at 27%, the YSRCP at 42%, and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) at 38%.

Intriguingly, the affidavits submitted by MPs also reveal a chilling fact: 32 MPs have declared cases related to "attempt to murder" (IPC Section 307), while 21 sitting MPs have been charged with crimes against women. Shockingly, four MPs among them face cases related to rape (IPC Section 376).

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On a different note, the report highlights the financial aspect of India's MPs. The average assets per MP, encompassing both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha, amount to Rs 38.33 crore. However, it is noteworthy that MPs with declared criminal cases boast average assets worth Rs 50.03 crore, whereas those without any criminal cases have average assets of Rs 30.50 crore.

Telangana emerges as the state with the highest average assets per MP, with an average of Rs 262.26 crore among its 24 MPs. Following closely are Andhra Pradesh (36 MPs) with average assets of Rs 150.76 crore and Punjab (20 MPs) with average assets of Rs 88.94 crore.

The report also provides a breakdown by political party, revealing that among the 385 BJP MPs, the average assets per MP are Rs 18.31 crore. For Congress MPs, the figure is substantially higher at Rs 39.12 crore for the 81 MPs. The 36 TMC MPs have average assets worth Rs 8.72 crore, while the 31 YSRCP MPs possess average assets worth Rs. 153.76 crore. The 16 Telangana Rashtra Samiti (now Bharat Rashtra Samiti) MPs exhibit considerable wealth, with an average asset value of Rs. 383.51 crore, followed by the 8 NCP MPs with an average asset value of Rs. 30.11 crore and the 11 AAP MPs with an average asset value of Rs. 119.84 crores.

Also, it should be noted that four Lok Sabha seats and one Rajya Sabha seat remain vacant, with four Rajya Sabha seats in Jammu and Kashmir being undefined. Additionally, the affidavits of one Lok Sabha MP and three Rajya Sabha MPs were not analyzed due to unavailability.

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