46% MLAs in Odisha have criminal cases: ADR

About 46 per cent of the newly elected legislators in Odisha face criminal cases, said a report on Monday.

As many as 67 of the 146 members of the Odisha Assembly have declared criminal cases in their affidavits, said the report prepared by Odisha Election Watch (OEW) and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

While 49 (34 per cent) of the MLAs have serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder and kidnapping against them, the report said.

Of the MLAs with serious criminal cases, two have cases related to murder and 11 have declared attempt to murder cases against them, the report said.

Forty-six (41 per cent) of the 112 MLAs from the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), 14 (61 per cent) of the 23 MLAs from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and 6 (67 per cent) of the 9 MLAs from Congress have declared criminal cases against them.

The report said that 33 (30 per cent) MLAs from the BJD, 10 (44 per cent) from the BJP and five from the Congress face serious criminal cases.

In 2014, of the 147 MLAs elected, 52 (35 per cent) MLAs had declared criminal cases while 41 (28 per cent) had serious criminal cases against them.

--IANS

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