Bhubaneswar: Since law does not bar criminals to enter politics, infiltration of lawbreakers and corrupt individuals into the political system continues unabated, if a recent analysis by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) is any indication.
The analysis claimed that an approximate 44 per cent of MLAs in the assemblies across India, including Odisha, have criminal cases against themselves. The data revealed that 64 (44.13 per cent) out of 145 MLAs analysed in Odisha have declared criminal cases against them.
Similarly, 46 (32 per cent) legislators have declared serious criminal cases against them. While two Odisha lawmakers have declared cases of murder, 11 declared cases of attempt to murder and 12 declared cases of crime against women.
Moreover, one MLA from the state has a rape case registered against him. The data also revealed that 45 out of 113 Biju Janata Dal MLAs have criminal cases while 32 declared serious criminal cases against them.
The nationwide survey examined the affidavits of current MLAs in state Assemblies and union territories across the country. The data was extracted from the affidavits filed by the MLAs prior to contesting their most recent elections.
The analysis encompassed a total of 4,001 MLAs out of the 4,033 individuals serving across 28 state Assemblies and 2 Union territories. Of the MLAs analysed, the ADR said 1,136 or about 28 per cent have declared serious criminal cases against themselves, including charges related to murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping, and crimes against women, among others.
In Kerala, 95 out of 135 MLAs, accounting for 70 per cent, have declared criminal cases against themselves.
Similarly, in Bihar, 161 out of 242 MLAs (67 per cent), in Delhi, 44 out of 70 MLAs (63 per cent), in Maharashtra, 175 out of 284 MLAs (62 per cent), in Telangana, 72 out of 118 MLAs (61 per cent), and in Tamil Nadu, 134 out of 224 MLAs (60 per cent) have self-declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
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Additionally, the ADR reported that 37 out of 70 MLAs (53 per cent) in Delhi, 122 out of 242 MLAs (50 per cent) in Bihar, 114 out of 284 MLAs (40 per cent) in Maharashtra, 31 out of 79 MLAs (39 per cent) in Jharkhand, 46 out of 118 MLAs (39 per cent) in Telangana, and 155 out of 403 MLAs (38 per cent) in Uttar Pradesh have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
The analysis also unveiled disturbing statistics related to crimes against women. A total of 114 MLAs have declared cases pertaining to crimes against women, with 14 of them specifically declaring cases related to rape (IPC Section-376), as highlighted in the report.
Apart from criminal records, the analysis also examined the assets of the MLAs. The average assets per MLA from state Assemblies were found to be `13.63 crore. However, the average assets of MLAs with declared criminal cases stood higher at `16.36 crore as compared to `11.45 crore for those with no criminal cases.
PNN & Agencies