31 Percent Lok Sabha MPs Face Criminal Charges: Report

New Delhi: Some 31 percent of MPs in the Lok Sabha have criminal cases pending against them, and their pay package is 68 times higher than the national per capita income, according to the National Social Watch Report on Governance and Development-2013 released.

"The pay package of MPs in India is higher than that of their counterparts in Singapore, Japan, Italy, and Pakistan. In terms of the ratio of the package to the national per capita income, India ranks second after Kenya, and pays almost double than the U.S.," said National Social Watch spokesperson Amitabh Behar.

The report said as many as 152 MPs (31 percent) in the 15th Lok Sabha have criminal cases pending against them, while nearly 17 percent of women MPs face criminal charges.

On the functioning of Parliament, the report stated that around 577 and 442 hours were lost in disruptions and forced adjournments in the nine sessions of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha during 2010-12, respectively.

"Budget, monsoon and winters sessions each saw the Lok Sabha working for an average of less than four hours per day during its 227 sittings, and losing in the process about 577 hours in disruptions and adjournments," the report said.

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