Saturday, May 24, 2014

In the newly elected Indian parliament, worrying trends...

Satish Chandra Dubey faces charges including murder, attempted murder, rioting armed with a deadly weapon, robbery, theft and killing or maiming cattle, to name but a few. Mr. Dubey, who is also suspected of involvement in drug smuggling and has previously been charged in a bank robbery, is one of several criminals-turned-politicians in India. He is known as a “bahubali,” or a powerful person.

On Friday, Mr. Dubey was also elected as a member for the state of Bihar in India’s 16th Lok Sabha, or lower house of Parliament. He is one of the 112 newly elected parliamentarians, more than a fifth of the house, who have declared serious criminal cases registered against them.

An analysis of the members of the newly elected lower house of Parliament shows that it is not only increasingly criminal, but also increasingly unrepresentative of the population it serves, with regard to wealth, age and religion. The tiny silver lining is a slight increase in the number of women in the ranks of lawmakers.

About a third, or 34 percent, of the elected members have criminal records, up from 30 percent in 2009 and 24 percent in 2004. And the percentage of members of Parliament like Mr. Dubey, who face serious charges, is up to more than 20 percent from 15 percent in the previous election, despite recent changes that were designed to dissuade parties from fielding criminal candidates, according to a study by the Association for Democratic Reforms, which analyzed the affidavits filed to the Election Commission as part of the candidates’ nomination papers. Full story...

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  3. Why do many India MPs have criminal records?
  4. Democracy in India, democracy in Switzerland...
  5. Jawaharlal Nehru 'would be ashamed of today's greedy, corrupt India'
  6. A "caged parrot" - Indian judge describes top police agency in coalgate scandal...
  7. " Politicians in India have looted the country more than the British did..."

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