Fresh danger to democracy: Candidates with criminal records have better chances to win

By A Representative

In a new analysis, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW) have found that out of 62,847 candidates who contested either Parliamentary or State Assembly Elections since 2004, as many as 11,063 18% had declared that they had criminal cases against themselves. Further, of the 8,790 candidates (8%) candidates had declared that they had serious criminal cases against themselves.
While this may be considered something “normal”, as things stand in India today, what should be an eye-opener to those who stand by democratic values is, there are greater chances of winning elections if the candidate does not have a clean record. ADR-NEW analysis suggests, there is 12% chance of winning election with a clean record, while the chance of winning election with serious criminal record is 23%.
Of the sitting Lok Sabha MPs with criminal cases, they are 162 (30%) out of 543 Lok Sabha MPs, who have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these, 76 or 14% of the current Lok Sabha MPs have declared serious criminal cases against themselves. Then, 40 out of 232 (17%) sitting MPs from Rajya Sabha have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these, 16 (7%) of the current Rajya Sabha MPs have declared serious criminal cases.
As for the sitting MLAs who have declared criminal cases, 1,258 (31%) out of the 4032 from all state assemblies have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these, 15% of the current MLAs from all state assemblies have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
Taken together, out of the total number of 8,790 MPs/MLAs analyzed since 2004, as many as 2,575 or 29% have declared criminal cases against themselves and 1187 or 14% have serious criminal charges. A party-wise breakup suggests that the Indian National Congress has 8% and BJP has 13% MPs/MLAs with serious criminal charges.
Analysis of the data has also reveals that money power and muscle power have a large bearing on the chances of winning of a candidate. The average assets of 2,575 MPs/MLAs (analyzed since 2004) with criminal cases is Rs 4.30 crore and for 1187 MPs/MLAs with serious criminal charges has been Rs 4.38 crore. This is against the average assets of all candidates being Rs 1.37 crore, and average assets of MPs/MLAs being Rs 3.83 crore.
An analysis of the candidates with criminal cases getting party tickets for the second time shows that of those with criminal records (4,181) as many as 1,072 of them had a criminal case against themselves when they fought elections for the first time. Of these, 788 had cases when they fought for the second time also. “This means political parties gave tickets to 74% of candidates with criminal records the second time also despite having information on their criminal background from previous elections”, comments ADR-NEW analysis.
But what is of even more interest is that, the total number of candidates with criminal cases still increased the second time as there were 507 other candidates (out of 4,181) who showed no criminal cases in the first election but declared cases in the second round of elections. “Therefore, the total percent of candidates with criminal records given tickets by political parties rose from 26% to 31%”, the analysis says.
“If one looks at serious criminal cases a similar picture emerges. Of 540 candidates with serious charges, 353 or 65% were given tickets for the second time also. In addition to them there were 289 other candidates with no criminal cases in the first election, but who had declared cases in the second round of elections. This also shows that the total percent of candidates with serious criminal records given tickets by political parties rose from 12% to 15%”, it adds.
The analysis shows that cases against 788 contesting candidates have been pending since their declarations in the previous election. “This means that these candidates with pending criminal cases continue to contest elections, while charges against them remaining pending in Courts without any resolution and some of them even continue to sit as people’ representatives”, ADR-NEW analysis suggests.
Party wise MPs/MLAs who have declared criminal cases suggests that 75% of MPs/MLAs who have got elected on Shiv Sena (SS) tickets since 2004 have declared criminal cases against themselves (out of 137 MPs/MLAs from SS, 103 have declared criminal cases). Further, 46% of MPs/ MLAs elected on RJD tickets since 2004 have declared criminal cases against themselves (Out of 125 MPs/MLAs analyzed, 58 have declared criminal cases). Also, 44% of representatives elected on JD (U) tickets since 2004 have declared criminal cases against themselves (out of 272 MPs/MLAs analyzed, 120 have declared criminal cases).
Party wise BJP & INC MPs/MLAs who have declared criminal cases suggests that 31% of MPs/MLAs elected on BJP tickets since 2004 have declared criminal cases against themselves (out of the 1,689 MPs/MLAs from BJP, 520 have declared criminal cases). Also, 22% of MPs, MLAs and MLCs elected on INC tickets since 2004 have declared criminal cases against themselves (out of the 2451 MPs/MLAs from INC, 527 have declared criminal cases against themselves).

Comments

New RTI draft rules inspired by citizen-unfriendly, overtly bureaucratic approach

By Venkatesh Nayak* The Department of Personnel and Training , Government of India has invited comments on a new set of Draft Rules (available in English only) to implement The Right to Information Act, 2005 . The RTI Rules were last amended in 2012 after a long period of consultation with various stakeholders. The Government’s move to put the draft RTI Rules out for people’s comments and suggestions for change is a welcome continuation of the tradition of public consultation. Positive aspects of the Draft RTI Rules While 60-65% of the Draft RTI Rules repeat the content of the 2012 RTI Rules, some new aspects deserve appreciation as they clarify the manner of implementation of key provisions of the RTI Act. These are: Provisions for dealing with non-compliance of the orders and directives of the Central Information Commission (CIC) by public authorities- this was missing in the 2012 RTI Rules. Non-compliance is increasingly becoming a major problem- two of my non-compliance cases are...

Urgent need to study cause of large number of natural deaths in Gulf countries

By Venkatesh Nayak* According to data tabled in Parliament in April 2018, there are 87.76 lakh (8.77 million) Indians in six Gulf countries, namely Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). While replying to an Unstarred Question (#6091) raised in the Lok Sabha, the Union Minister of State for External Affairs said, during the first half of this financial year alone (between April-September 2018), blue-collared Indian workers in these countries had remitted USD 33.47 Billion back home. Not much is known about the human cost of such earnings which swell up the country’s forex reserves quietly. My recent RTI intervention and research of proceedings in Parliament has revealed that between 2012 and mid-2018 more than 24,570 Indian Workers died in these Gulf countries. This works out to an average of more than 10 deaths per day. For every US$ 1 Billion they remitted to India during the same period there were at least 117 deaths of Indian Workers in Gulf ...

Call to "enjoy" pilgrimage of Sabarmati beyond Ahmedabad, where river water turns black

Sabarmati at Vautha By A Representative Nagrik Sashaktikaran Manch (NSM), a Gujarat-based civil rights organization, has called upon the state's citizens to join in a "unique yatra" along the river Sabarmati, starting in Ahmedabad and ending off the Gulf of Khambhat, where the river is supposed to merge with the sea. Pointing out that in Hindu culture, rivers are equated with Mother Goddess, NSM convener Jatin Seth says, it will be a "special event of pilgrimage", because, just like Ganga, Sarbarmati possesses "special properties." "Starting at Giaspur, one can see how industries are releasing chemicals in Sabarmati, and you get a Thumbs-Up like colour of the water, and if you drink it, you are sure to be at least affected by cancer, and this way would enable you to book your ticket in the paradise. The river has a special smell, too, emanating from a black cocktail-type colour", says Seth in a statement. A village next to Sabarmati river In...

Budget for 2018-19: Ahmedabad authorities "regularly" under-spend allocation

By Mahender Jethmalani* The Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC's) General Body (Municipal Board) recently passed the AMC’s annual budget estimates of Rs 6,990 crore for 2018-19. AMC’s revenue expenditure for the next financial year is Rs 3,500 crore and development budget (capital budget) is Rs 3,490 crore.

Is India emulating west, 'using' anti-terror plank to justify state-supported violence?

Fahad Ahmad, Baljit Nagra* Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has accused India of being involved in the assassination of Hardeep Singh Nijjar, a Canadian Sikh leader, on Canadian soil. Narendra Modi’s right-wing Hindu nationalist Indian government is defiant and denies involvement. Indian officials have instead admonished Canada for being a “ safe haven ” for Sikh “terrorism,” a pejorative for Sikh self-determination .

As 2024 draws nearer, threatening signs appear of more destructive wars

By Bharat Dogra The four years from 2020 to 2023 have been very difficult and high risk years for humanity. In the first two years there was a pandemic and such severe disruption of social and economic life that countless people have not yet recovered from its many-sided adverse impacts. In the next two years there were outbreaks of two very high-risk wars which have worldwide implications including escalation into much wider conflicts. In addition there were highly threatening signs of increasing possibility of other very destructive wars. As the year 2023 appears to be headed for ending on a very grim note, there are apprehensions about what the next year 2024 may bring, and there are several kinds of fears. However to come back to the year 2020 first, the pandemic harmed and threatened a very large number of people. No less harmful was the fear epidemic, the epidemic of increasing mental stress and the cruel disruption of the life and livelihoods particularly among the weaker s...

Covid response? How, gripped by fear and groupthink, scientists 'failed' children

By Bhaskaran Raman* “Today’s children are tomorrow’s future”, “Nurture children’s dreams”, “A child’s smile is sunlight”. These are some cliches, rendered rather uninspiring through repetition and obviousness. However, for nearly 2½ years, society forgot these cliches, children suffered as science failed and groupthink prevailed. Worse, all of this has been swept under the rug.

Job opportunities decreasing, wages remain low: Delhi construction workers' plight

By Bharat Dogra* It was about 32 years back that a hut colony in posh Prashant Vihar area of Delhi was demolished. It was after a great struggle that the people evicted from here could get alternative plots that were not too far away from their earlier colony. Nirmana, an organization of construction workers, played an important role in helping the evicted people to get this alternative land. At that time it was a big relief to get this alternative land, even though the plots given to them were very small ones of 10X8 feet size. The people worked hard to construct new houses, often constructing two floors so that the family could be accommodated in the small plots. However a recent visit revealed that people are rather disheartened now by a number of adverse factors. They have not been given the proper allotment papers yet. There is still no sewer system here. They have to use public toilets constructed some distance away which can sometimes be quite messy. There is still no...

Uttarakhand tunnel disaster: 'Question mark' on rescue plan, appraisal, construction

By Bhim Singh Rawat* As many as 40 workers were trapped inside Barkot-Silkyara tunnel in Uttarkashi after a portion of the 4.5 km long, supposedly completed portion of the tunnel, collapsed early morning on Sunday, Nov 12, 2023. The incident has once again raised several questions over negligence in planning, appraisal and construction, absence of emergency rescue plan, violations of labour laws and environmental norms resulting in this avoidable accident.

Search This Blog