Criminalisation of politics: how serious is the problem?31 August 2011

Criminalisation of politics: how serious is the problem?

Babita Basu

31 August 2011, 05:29 PM IST



Inappropriate? Rude? Uncalled for? Perhaps yes. At least, most of us wouldn’t do that – and I mean using the words or the gestures that Ms Bedi and Mr Puri did, while describing the shenanigans of some Indian politicians. But how real are some of their concerns?

Let’s go beyond those words and gestures look at the concerns that the fine actor and the former supercop possibly had on their minds – the big picture or the profile of the typical Indian Parliamentarian. It made some of us stop right there, in our tracks, and ask ourselves, how well-educated are our people’s representatives? (And I mean formal education here - not that it matters much, though.) How bad are their criminal records? And thereby hangs a tale – or some facts, perhaps – those that merit a closer look. Let’s look at the statistics of MPs in the current (15th Lok Sabha):

Here’s a lowdown on the educational profiles of the MPs of the 15th Lok Sabha.

* Literate: 4
* 5th Pass: 9
* 8th Pass: 9
* 10th Pass: 45
* 12th Pass: 50
* Graduate: 147
* Graduate Professional: 106
* Post Graduate: 130
* Doctorate: 20
* Others: 8
* Not Given: 15

(Total 543)

Source: Analysis of Criminal & Financial Details of MPs Of 15th Lok Sabha (2009) Interim Report by the NATIONAL ELECTION WATCH & ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORM, website www.adrindia.org

And here’s a summary of criminal cases faced by the MPs of the 15th Lok Sabha:

“There are 158 newly elected MPs with criminal cases pending against them. Out of these, there are 74 MPs having serious charges against them. Here is the high level summary of the new Lok Sabha:

• Affidavits available for MPs - 543
• MPs with criminal charges - 161 (29.65 %)
• MPs with serious criminal charges - 75 (13.81 %)
• Total criminal cases against MPs - 512
• Total serious IPC sections against MPs - 272
• Total crorepati MPs – 314

As compared to 2004, the number of MPs with pending criminal charges has gone up. There were 128 MPs with pending criminal cases against them in 2004 Lok Sabha out of which 55 had serious criminal charges. There is an increase of about 25.78% in MPs with criminal charges and 36.36% increase in the number of MPs with serious criminal charges. There however is a decrease of 9.93% in the number of serious criminal charges on these MPs.”
Source: Analysis of Criminal & Financial Details of MPs Of 15th Lok Sabha (2009) Interim Report by the NATIONAL ELECTION WATCH & ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORM, website www.adrindia.org

Let’s refer to an old article in The Indian Express by noted economist Bibek Debroy published on July 11 2008, titled “Profile of an Indian MP”.

“Every country gets the government it deserves,” he writes, quoting Joseph Marie De Maistre. “While lambasting politicians, let’s remember Legislatures are elected”, he adds. But also makes the point that sensible choices emerge from well-informed minds.

And in the same context, he refers to the report by the Public Affairs Centre (PAC), Bangalore, on the 14th Lok Sabha, where almost 75% MPs were equipped with graduate or post-graduate degrees, many of them with law degrees, while non-matriculate MPs only added up to a meagre 6%.

“…the average MP is worth Rs 1.64 crore. But the average non-SC/ST MP is worth Rs 2 crore. These assets are mostly houses and agricultural land and the more educated an MP, the lower the asset value,” writes Debroy, quoting the report.

“…a large number of MPs have criminal cases pending against them, reflecting criminalisation of politics, or perhaps more accurately, politicisation of criminals. The uneducated have more criminal cases against them, as do those who are in the 36-45 age group”, writes Debroy. “It is fashionable to deride politicisation of criminals, especially when correlations (which don’t necessarily indicate causation) suggest that to be successfully elected as an MP, one should have criminal connections and money, with education perhaps a disadvantage”, he adds. And agrees that some candidates are “accused and not convicted because of warts in the criminal justice system”, he writes. These comments are relevant in any discussion about the criminal charges faced by our sitting Lok Sabha members.

Well! More interesting facts emerge from ADR’s report on the profile of the MPs of the 15th Lok Sabha – out of the total number of constituencies in each state, Uttar Pradesh has elected 38.75% MPs with pending criminal charges, Jharkhand elected 57.14%, Maharashtra 54.17%, Bihar 45% and Gujarat 42.31%. The sole Lok Sabha representatives elected respectively by Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Andaman and Nicobar Islands faced criminal charges.

A slightly better picture emerges when we learn that the “Comparison of top 10 MPs with criminal charges in 2004 and 2009 Lok Sabha Elections clearly indicates that number of candidates with very serious criminal backgrounds has declined. For the top 10 MPs with most serious criminal charges, the total number of cases decreased by 42%, count of serious IPC charges reduced by 32% with a 55% fall in murder charges.”
(Source: Analysis of Criminal & Financial Details of MPs Of 15th Lok Sabha (2009) Interim Report by the NATIONAL ELECTION WATCH & ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORM, website www.adrindia.org)

As for the financial profiles of MPs, the number of crorepatis have increased from 154 in the 14th Lok Sabha to 314 in the current Lok Sabha, showing an increase of 103.9%. Our country is on the fastest track to prosperity, I am sure!