Nearly 47 per cent of ministers in the country have declared criminal cases against themselves, including serious charges such as murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women, according to an analysis of poll rights body Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
The report came days after the Centre introduced three bills that sought the removal of prime minister, chief ministers, and ministers arrested for 30 days on serious criminal charges.
ADR examined self-sworn affidavits of 643 ministers from 27 state assemblies, three Union Territories and the Union Council of Ministers, and found that 302 ministers, or 47 per cent of the total, have criminal cases against them.
Of these 302 ministers, 174 face serious criminal cases, the report stated.
According to the analysis, of 336 BJP ministers, 136 (40 per cent) declared criminal cases against themselves, and 88 (26 per cent) are facing serious charges.
The Congress, which is in power in four states, had 45 ministers (74 per cent) with criminal cases, including 18 (30 per cent) with serious offences.
Of 31 DMK ministers, 27 — accounting for around 87 per cent — face criminal charges, while 14 (45 per cent) face serious cases. The Trinamool Congress too had 13 of its 40 ministers (33 per cent) with criminal cases, including 8 (20 per cent) with serious charges.