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42% of PM Modi's New Cabinet Ministers Have Criminal Records: ADR Report

42% (33) of the total 78 ministers in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led cabinet at the Centre have declared criminal cases.

Sentinel Digital Desk

Murder, Robbery Cases Against Modi Let Cabinet Ministers

NEW DELHI: Following the major modi cabinet minister reshuffle earlier this week in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Union cabinet, a report published by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) poll rights group highlights 33 ministers (42%) in the new cabinet that have declared criminal cases against them.

Notably, 42% (33) of the total 78 ministers in the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led cabinet at the Centre have declared criminal cases.

Of the 33, four ministers -- John Barla, Nitish Pramanik, Pankaj Choudhary, V Muraleedharan -- have cases related to murder attempts and around 31% (24) have declared serious criminal cases, including murder, robbery, etc.

Further, seven ministers have declared cases related to the electoral violation.

It is to be mentioned here that as many as 43 MPs along with Assam State former chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal took oath as ministers earlier this week in the first major cabinet reshuffle of the second term of the Modi government.

Fifteen new cabinet ministers and 28 ministers of state were sworn, taking the strength of the council of ministers to 78.

Moreover, around 90% of members of the new Union cabinet (70 ministers) are millionaires, i.e. they have declared total assets amounting to over ₹10 million (one crore), the ADR report pointed out. Four ministers -- Jyotiraditya Scindia (over ₹379 crore), Piyush Goyal (over ₹95 crore), Narayan Rane (over ₹87 crore), and Rajeev Chandrasekhar (over ₹64 crore) -- have been categorized as 'high asset ministers', which means they have declared assets worth more than ₹50 crore.

Meanwhile, the cabinet ministers who have declared assets worth the lowest in the lot are -- Pratima Bhoumik from Tripura (over ₹6 lakh), John Barla from West Bengal (over ₹14 lakh), Kailash Choudhary from Rajasthan (over ₹24 lakh), Bishweswar Tudu from Odisha (over ₹27 lakh), and V Muraleedharan from Maharashtra (over ₹27 lakh).

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