What does a comprehensive look at the background of all the 4,001 sitting Members of the Legislative Assemblies across India tell us about the state of Indian politics? Can India’s aspirations to be a globally respected economic and cultural power be fulfilled with the kind of politics it has?
All candidates now follow stipulations following a Supreme Court of India judgment, filing self-sworn affidavits which record the details of criminal cases they have, if any. Of the 4,001 sitting MLAs, 1,777 of them, or 44%, have a criminal case. The current Lok Sabha also has 43% Members of Parliament (MP) with criminal cases. In 2004, the percentage was around 22%, and has now doubled. Many people feel that the cases are either trivial ones or politically motivated. The point that these are not frivolous first information reports needs to be emphasised. These are cases registered after a due process of investigation, filing of charge sheets, a preliminary hearing of the case and being formally charged in a court of law. Even if we say that the cases are foisted by rival political parties, it shows that political parties are selectively using the law and the system needs to change. The law and order system was put in place by political parties and they need to change it. However, facts show that most cases were filed when the party to which the MLA or MPs belonged to was in power. So, the cases are not all politically motivated.
