With reference to the report, "13 new Rajya Sabha members have criminal cases: ADR" (June 30), it is unfortunate that of the 57 members of Parliament (MP) analysed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 13 have declared criminal cases against themselves. Of these 13 MPs, seven have declared serious criminal cases, including those of attempted murder, cheating and dishonestly inducing delivery of property and theft.
A party-wise look at the data reveals that three of these MPs are from the Bharatiya Janata Party, two are from the Samajwadi Party while the Congress, Biju Janata Dal, Bahujan Samaj Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagham, Shiv Sena and YSR Congress Party have one MP each on the list.
In terms of states, these MPs belong to Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha and Haryana - an indication that it's a pan-India phenomenon.
This means that not only national parties but regional parties also have nominated MPs with criminal cases against them to the Rajya Sabha. None of the MPs can dare question the credentials of the others as all of them are in the same boat.
The question is: Do the people of one of the world's largest democracies deserve to be served by such individuals? Shouldn't only those gain entry into Parliament whose names have been cleared by a court of law? The election of such MPs seems to imply that money power is pivotal in the nomination of candidates by various political parties.
Also, according to the ADR report, the average value of assets of newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs is Rs 35.8 crore. This speaks volumes about their financial condition vis-a-vis the common man.
Away from the criminal cases issue, it is a pity that of the 57 new MPs, only four are women. This shows the true colours of our political leaders, who claim to be fighting for 33 per cent reservation for women in Parliament.
S Kumar, New Delhi
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