New Delhi:The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has released a report revealing that 12 out of India’s 30 sitting chief ministers have declared criminal cases against them in their election affidavits, highlighting the deepening concern over the criminalization of politics. This amounts to 40 percent of the country’s chief ministers having criminal charges pending before courts.
The ADR study, based on the sworn affidavits of chief ministers, shows that several leaders face multiple cases. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has the highest number with 89 cases, followed by Tamil Nadu’s M.K. Stalin with 47 and Andhra Pradesh’s Chandrababu Naidu with 19. Other prominent names include Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah with 13 cases and Jharkhand’s Hemant Soren with five. Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu have four cases each, while Kerala’s Pinarayi Vijayan has two and Punjab’s Bhagwant Mann one.
The report as per the news agency Kashmir News Trust also points out that 10 chief ministers, making up about 33 percent of the total, are accused in serious criminal cases involving allegations such as attempted murder, bribery, kidnapping and criminal intimidation. These findings have reignited debate about the need for stricter laws to prevent individuals with criminal backgrounds from occupying high constitutional positions.
The report comes at a time when Parliament has debated new bills that seek to make it mandatory for a prime minister, chief minister or minister to vacate office if they remain in judicial custody for 30 consecutive days on charges that carry a minimum punishment of five years. While the government argues that such measures are necessary to curb corruption and restore public trust in politics, opposition parties allege that the proposed laws may be selectively used to target non-BJP leaders. [KNT]
