New Delhi: According to a recent report by an electoral rights body, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), as many as 151 sitting MPs and legislators have declared cases related to crimes against women in their election affidavits, and West Bengal has the highest number of legislators facing such cases.
The ADR examined 4,693 of the 4,809 affidavits of sitting MPs and MLAs submitted to the Election Commission of India during the elections held between 2019 and 2024. The organisation identified 16 MPs and 135 MLAs who were facing cases related to crimes against women.
West Bengal tops the list with 25 sitting MPs and lawmakers facing charges related to crimes against women, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 21 and Orissa at 17, according to the report which comes amid nationwide protests over the alleged rape and murder of a junior doctor at a state-run hospital in Kolkata and the sexual assault of two boys in Thane.
According to the report, there are 16 sitting MPs and local legislators who have declared cases related to rape under Section 376 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and can extend to life imprisonment. Of them, two are MPs and 14 are local legislators.
The charges include repeated crimes against the same victim, further underlining the seriousness of these cases.
Among political parties, the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party (BJP)) has the largest number of representatives (54 deputies and legislators) with declared cases related to crimes against women, followed by the Congress with 23 and the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), with 17, the report said.
Both Indian People’s Party (BJP) and Congress It has five sitting lawmakers, each of whom faces rape charges.
The ADR has issued strong recommendations in response to these findings, stressing the need for political parties to refrain from nominating candidates with criminal records, especially those charged with rape and other crimes against women.
The report calls for speeding up prosecutions against local MPs and lawmakers and for ensuring that police conduct professional and thorough investigations.
The ADR urged voters to avoid electing candidates with such positions.
(with PTI inputs)
Disclaimer:
The information contained in this post is for general information purposes only. We make no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the completeness, accuracy, reliability, suitability or availability with respect to the website or the information, products, services, or related graphics contained on the post for any purpose.
We respect the intellectual property rights of content creators. If you are the owner of any material featured on our website and have concerns about its use, please contact us. We are committed to addressing any copyright issues promptly and will remove any material within 2 days of receiving a request from the rightful owner.