Criminals, Crorepatis & Non-Graduates; It's Indian Politics

Of all the elected representatives in the just concluded assembly elections to five states, one-third of candidates have criminal cases pending against them. 35 percent or 252 of the 690 MLAs elected to the five states, UP, Punjab, Goa, Uttarakhand, Manipur – have one or several cases against them, which is an 8 percent jump from 2007. Uttar Pradesh tops the list with 189 (47 percent) of elected candidates having declared criminal cases against them, which is an increase from 140 (34 percent) in 2007. The Goan assembly has 12 (30 percent) candidates with tainted past and in Uttarakhand, there are about 19 (22 percent) MLAs with criminal cases against them. According to the affidavits, there are 22 legislators in the Punjab Vidan Sabha, with criminal cases pending against them, of which 8 of them have serious cases against them including charges of murder, extortion, kidnapping, theft and robbery.

Despite the recent apolitical uprising against the deep-rooted corruption and expanding criminal base in politics, there seems to be no improvement in the state of affairs in Indian politics. The country has been cursed with dynasty politics, economic plunder and feeble communal sentiments on which the politicians often reap their fortunes. There should be a new awakening, an ideological revolution and a strong political will to make the art of political functioning more trustworthy, transparent and beneficial to the common man.