Seventy members of the new Union Council of Ministers sworn in on June 9 are crorepatis, non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms said in a report on Tuesday.
The Association for Democratic Reforms and the National Election Watch analysed the self-sworn affidavits of 71 out of 72 new ministers. The details of Bharatiya Janata Party leader George Kurien were not analysed as he did not contest the Lok Sabha elections.
Seventy of the 71 ministers, or nearly 99%, had assets of over Rs 1 crore, the analysis showed. Six ministers have declared assets worth over Rs 100 crore, the organisation said.
Telugu Desam Party leader Chandra Sekhar Pemmasani, who was elected from Andhra Pradesh’s Guntur to the Lok Sabha, topped the list with declared assets worth over Rs 5.705 crore.
Pemmasani has been appointed as the minister of state in the Ministry of Rural Development and minister of state in the Ministry of Communications.
Jyotiraditya Scindia, who holds the portfolios of Communications and Development of North Eastern Region, is second on the list with declared assets worth over Rs 424 crore.
He is followed by Janata Dal (Secular) leader and Minister of Heavy Industries and Minister of Steel HD Kumaraswamy, who has declared assets worth over Rs 217 crore.
Minister of Railways, Minister of Information and Broadcasting and Minister of Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has declared assets worth over Rs 144 crore.
Gurgaon MP Rao Inderjit Singh, appointed as minister of state (independent charge) of the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, minister of state (independent charge) of the Ministry of Planning and minister of state in the Ministry of Culture, has total assets going over Rs 121 crore.
Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal, the MP from Mumbai North, has declared assets worth over Rs 110 crore.
The 71 ministers analysed in the report held assets of Rs 107.94 crore on an average.
Criminal cases
The poll watchdog also found that 28, or 31% of the new ministers, have declared criminal cases against them.
Of these, 19 ministers have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to attempt to murder, kidnapping and crimes against women.
The organisation classified serious criminal offences as those that have a maximum punishment of five years or more, are non-bailable, or related to loss to exchequer.
Two ministers, both leaders of the BJP from West Bengal, have been accused in attempt to murder cases. The ministers are Shantanu Thakur, who was elected from Bangaon, and Sukanta Majumdar, the MP from Balurghat.
Thakur and Majumdar are also accused in cases related to crimes against women. Also featured on the list are Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Suresh Gopi and Jual Oram. All ministers are from the BJP.
A total of eight ministers, including Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah and Minister of Education Dharmendra Pradhan, have declared cases related to hate speech.
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