New Delhi, A recent report has revealed that 33 percent of the members of the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India’s Parliament, have criminal cases against them. Furthermore, the report highlighted that 31 percent of these members are billionaires, with the collective assets of all sitting MPs amounting to Rs 19,602 crore.

According to Kashmir Media Service, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an Indian organization dedicated to electoral reforms, conducted the study. It found that 18 percent of the Rajya Sabha members have been implicated in serious criminal cases, including charges of murder and attempted murder.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has the highest number of Rajya Sabha members, with 90 of its members currently holding seats. Among them, the report indicates a significant prevalence of criminal charges, mirroring trends observed in other parties. For instance, 50 percent of the Congress party’s 28 members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) are also facing criminal charges. Similarly, the report outlines the criminal admission rates of other parties, including the Trinamool Congress (TMC), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), and the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), with TMC reporting 38 percent, RJD 67 percent, and CPI-M 80 percent of their Rajya Sabha members admitting to criminal records in their affidavits.

The findings of the ADR report cast a spotlight on the intersection of wealth, politics, and legal issues within India’s legislative bodies, raising questions about the implications for democratic governance and the rule of law.