40% Of India’s CMs With Criminal Cases Records

A new report from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), a nonprofit group that works on election reforms, shows some worrying facts about the criminal records of India’s Chief Ministers. The report says that out of 30 current Chief Ministers, 12 (40%) have declared criminal cases against them. Even worse, 10 of these 12 (about 33%) are facing serious charges like attempted murder, kidnapping, and bribery.

The report examines the affidavits that Chief Ministers filed before their latest elections. It mentions among its findings that Telangana’s Chief Minister Shri Revanth Reddy has the most cases, with 89. Tamil Nadu’s Shri M.K. Stalin has 47 cases, Andhra Pradesh’s Chief Minister Shri N. Chandrababu Naidu has 19, Karnataka’s Chief Minister Shri Siddaramaiah has 13, and Jharkhand’s Chief MiMinisterhri Hemant Soren has 5.

Maharashtra’s Chief Minister, Shri Devendra Fadnavis, and Himachal Pradesh’s Chief Minister, Shri Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, each have four cases. While Kerala’s Chief Minister Shri Pinarayi Vijayan has 2 and Punjab’s Chief Minister Shri Bhagwant Mann has 1 case against them.

This report is especially important now because the government has introduced three bills that would prevent a Prime Minister, Chief Minister, or minister from holding their position if they are in custody for 30 days due to serious criminal charges. The ADR’s findings highlight how urgent and important these proposed changes are.