Criminal watch

The websites of both houses of Parliament have separate sections on MPs in hospital, but none on MPs with criminal cases against them, or the ones in jail. So, you have to appreciate the work of an NGO called National Election Watch which worked ceaselessly to collect data on candidates and, after studying it, disseminated this to various media outlets.

After the election results, the NGO’s volunteers were quick to point out that as many as 153 newly-elected MPs had criminal cases pending against them, 73 ofthem of a serious nature. Also, the number of such MPs in the last Lok Sabha was 128. In other words, the criminalisation of politics has got a further fillip in the new Parliament. Members with criminal cases belong to the entire political spectrum, with the BJP and the Congress leading the honours.