Out of more than 1,500 elected legislators with criminal cases pending against them, 51 have cases of crimes against women registered against them, an Association of Democratic Reforms study has found. Of these 51, the Bharatiya Janata Party has the most legislators – 14. They are followed by the Shiv Sena and Trinamool Congress, who have seven and six parliamentarians with such cases against them, the study found.
The study analysed 4,852 of 4,896 election affidavits of sitting legislators from both houses of Parliament. This includes 774 out of 776 affidavits from MPs and 4,078 out of 4,120 MLAs. Political parties across the country have given tickets to 334 candidates who declared crimes against women.
The declared crimes include “charges related to assault or criminal force to woman with intent to outrage her modesty, kidnapping, abducting or inducing woman to compel her marriage, rape, husband or relative of husband of a woman subjecting her to cruelty, buying minor for purposes of prostitution and word, gesture or act intended to insult the modesty of a woman”.
Within the states, Maharashtra has the most legislators with such cases against them – 12. Maharashtra is followed by West Bengal (11) and Odisha (six).
The ADR study suggests lawmakers with criminal cases against them be debarred from contesting elections. It says that “political parties have been in a way abetting to circumstances that lead to such events that they so easily but vehemently condemn in Parliament.” It also recommends that all parties disclose on what basis they give candidates tickets, and that cases against legislators be fast-tracked.
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