More than 70 per cent of the newly sworn-in ministers in Bihar have declared criminal cases against themselves, the poll rights body ADR said. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav also have cases registered against them. Kumar, who recently severed ties with the BJP and joined hands with the RJD to form the government in Bihar, expanded his new cabinet on Tuesday by inducting 31 new ministers. Kumar and Deputy CM Yadav had been sworn in earlier on August 10.
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Consequent to the reconstitution of the Bihar Council of Ministers, the Association for Democratic Reforms and the Bihar Election Watch have analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 32 out of 33 ministers, including the chief minister, submitted during the 2020 Assembly polls. According to the report, 23 ministers (72 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves and 17 ministers (53 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
However, this is not a new phenomenon in India. Throughout our political history, MPs, MLAs, Ministers have sported criminal antecedents. While a lot of hue and cry has been raised on the issue over time, there is lack of accountability.
Taking a look at some tainted ministers and the cases filed against them:
L Murugan
Loganathan Murugan is the currently Minister of State in the Ministries of Fisheries, Animal Husbandry, and Dairy, as well as Information and Broadcasting. He was appointed as a Union Minister of State on July 7, 2021, after serving as the state president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Tamil Nadu unit.
Despite having practiced law, he has 21 cases against him. While it is unclear whether all of the cases were registered before or during the pandemic, he has been charged in 14 of the cases with “negligent act likely to spread infection of disease dangerous to life.” Another four cases involve “malignant acts likely to spread disease dangerous to life.” Murugan and 100 party workers were arrested in December 2020 for organising the “Vetri Vel Yatra” or Victorious Spear March without the permission of the police. The march was intended to highlight the state’s “anti-Hindu narrative” and “minority appeasement,” said a report by News Laundry.
Ashok Chandna
Ashok Chandna was elected to the 15th Rajasthan Legislative Assembly as a member of the Indian National Congress party. He is also the Minister of State for Youth Affairs and Sports (Independent Charge), Skill, Employment and Entrepreneurship (Independent Charge), Transport, and Soldier Welfare in the Rajasthan government.
According to a report in the Times of India, Chandna has the highest number of cases registered against him vs others in the Rajasthan cohort. Older reports linked him to a case filed in Sriganganagar concerning the issuance of a pistol licence in his name on forged papers.
Vishvendra Singh
Cases are also pending against Vishvendra Singh, a member of Bharatpur’s former royal family. He is currently Cabinet minister in Rajasthan Government, in the Tourism and Civil Aviation Department and belongs to the INC. Singh was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time on a BJP ticket in 1989, but he resigned from the seat in 1991 over the reservation issue, demanding economic quotas and leading several protests. During the Jat Andolan, a case was filed against him, according to his affidavit.
Shantanu Thakur
Shantanu Thakur has served as the Lok Sabha Member for Bangaon since 2019. After the Cabinet reshuffle on July 7, 2021, he was sworn in as Union Minister of State, Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways.
He comes from a powerful political family. According to the New Indian Express, he entered politics as a result of a family feud and is now regarded as one of the most powerful leaders of Bengal’s Matua community. The Matuas are a Scheduled Caste group with a significant representation in six parliamentary seats. Thakur, the 17th Lok Sabha member from Bangaon, is facing eight criminal charges. His first case was in December 2014, and the most recent was in early 2019, just three months before he was elected to the Lok Sabha.
Shantanu has been charged with criminal intimidation in six different cases. He has also been charged with causing grievous harm voluntarily in three cases.
GR Anil
Advocate G. R. Anil is currently serves as the Minister for Food and Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs, and Legal Metrology in the 15th Kerala Legislative Assembly. A member of the CPI (M), he has three criminal cases registered against him.
Twelve ministers in the Kerala cabinet have declared criminal cases against themselves in their election affidavits, according to an earlier report by poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms.
Kerala Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) had published the report after analysing self-sworn affidavits of 20 of the 21 ministers, including that of Pinarayi Vijayan who was sworn-in as chief minister on May 20.
What’s the Latest Scoop in Bihar?
Aday after being sworn in as the law minister in the new Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government, Kartikeya Singh alias Kartik Master faced an arrest warrant in alleged connection with a 2014 kidnapping case. An official said on Wednesday that the RJD leader avoided surrendering to a court or police in the case on August 16, the day he took the oath as a state cabinet minister.
On being asked by reporters about the warrant against Kartikeya, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said that he has no information about any such case. “I do not know. I am not aware of it,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, an internal dispute between two JD-U legislators in Bihar went public on Wednesday after Bima Bharti, MLA from Rupauli assembly constituency in Purnea district, opened a front against state cabinet minister Leshi Singh. Levelling serious allegations on Singh, Bharti said that the minister and her son are involved in murder and extortion. She also claimed that Singh was involved in anti-party activities during the election.
“Why Chief Minister Nitish Kumar made Leshi Singh minister in Bihar government despite she is facing some serious charges including murder and extortion. If Nitish Kumar does not remove her from the cabinet minister post, I will resign from the MLA post and the party; and will stage dharna outside the Chief Minister’s residence,” Bharti said.
‘Course Correction’ Needed?
Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) President Vikas Singh recently said 43 per cent of lawmakers have criminal antecedents and the country needs a course correction by enacting a law to prevent such persons from getting elected.
He said there were two areas with regard to the justice delivery — quality of legislators and appointment of judges — where serious reforms and serious introspection were needed. “Today, after 75 years if we see 43 per cent of our legislators having criminal antecedents, I think we need a course correction. I think we need to amend (law) because no individual political party can take the initiative of ensuring that people with criminal antecedents are not elected. Because if a party does not give a ticket to somebody who has been winning, the other party will,” he had said.
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