Seven in 10 Kerala MLAs face criminal charges; over half are crorepatis: ADR

New Delhi: According to a report prepared by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), nearly 70% of MLAs serving in Kerala have criminal cases filed against them; More than half are crorepatis.

The analysis, conducted by ADR and Kerala Election Watch, examined the affidavits of 132 sitting MLAs and found that 92 legislators had pending criminal cases. Of these, 33, or 25 percent, declared serious criminal cases, including charges of murder and attempted murder.

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The report stated that two MLAs have declared murder-related cases under Article 302 of the Indian Penal Code, while three MLAs are facing charges of attempt to murder under Article 307. Three MLAs also announced cases related to crimes against women, including one rape.

Party-wise data shows a high proportion of MLAs with criminal cases across political parties. The Communist Party of India (Marxist) recorded 43 out of 58 MLAs (74 percent) facing criminal charges, while the Indian National Congress recorded 19 out of 21 MLAs (90 percent). Among others, 44 per cent of the Communist Party of India and 86 per cent of the MLAs of the Indian Union Muslim League (IUML) reported such cases.

From a financial perspective, 72 MLAs (55 per cent) declared asset value of over Rs 1 billion. The total assets of all 132 MLAs stood at Rs 363.78 billion, with an average asset per MLA of Rs 2.75 billion.
Among political parties, all MLAs in Kerala Congress (M), JD(S), NCP and Kerala Congress declared assets of over Rs 1 crore. IUML, with 86 per cent of its MLAs in the crorepati category, is followed by the Congress with 62 per cent and the CPI(M) with 40 per cent. The report identified that the richest MLA with total assets exceeding Rs 34 billion is Mathew Kuzhalnadan of Congress, followed by Independent MLA Mani C Kappen with assets of more than Rs 27 billion and KB Ganesh Kumar of Kerala Congress (B) with assets of more than Rs 27 billion. 19 crore.

On the other hand, CPI(M) MLA PP Sumod declared assets of around Rs 9.9 lakh, making him the least wealthy among those analysed.

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From a demographic perspective, 61 per cent of MLAs have postgraduate level or higher educational qualifications, while 36 per cent have studied between Grades 5 and 12.

Only 11, or 8 percent, of the MLAs are women.

The age profile shows that 70 per cent of MLAs are between 51 and 80 years old, while 30 per cent are in the 25-50 age group. PTI