67 pct of Rajya Sabha members crorepatis, 17 pct face criminal charges

NEW DELHI: Over two-thirds of Rajya Sabha members (67 per cent) are crorepatis while 17 per cent have criminal cases pending against them, according to latest data analyzed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

In a report based on analysis of 227 out of 245 Rajya Sabha members — excluding the 12 nominated members and seats lying vacant — ADR said 38 members have declared criminal cases against them, out which 15 (7 per cent) face serious criminal cases.

While Bahujan Samaj Party's ( BSP) S P S Baghel from Uttar Pradesh has a case of attempt to murder against him, Congress's Parvez Hashmi from Delhi faces charges of voluntarily causing grievous hurt. T Rathinavel of AIADMK from Tamil Nadu is accused of electoral offence.

The average asset of the 227 Rajya Sabha MPs analyzed is Rs 20.17 crore. Among major parties, the average asset of Rajya Sabha MPs from Congress is Rs 16.74 crore, BJP MPs (Rs 8.51 crore), BSP MPs (Rs 13.82 crore) and CPM MPs (Rs 39.65 lakh).

Rajya Sabha MP with maximum assets is Mahendra Prasad of Janata Dal (United) from Bihar with belongings worth Rs 683.56 crore, followed by Vijaya Mallya, Independent member from Karnataka, (Rs 615.42 crore) and Samajawadi Party's Jaya Bachchan from Uttar Pradesh (Rs 493.86 crore).

Only nine MPs have declared assets worth less than Rs 20 lakh. BJP's Anil Dave from Madhya Pradesh has declared lowest assets worth Rs 2.75 lakh, followed by Trinamool Congress's Mohammed Nadimul from West Bengal (Rs 3.19 lakh) and Shymal Chakraborty of CPI-M from West Bengal (Rs 5.47 lakh).

At least 32, or 14 per cent MPs, have not declared their PAN details.

A total of 12 members of Rajya Sabha are nominated by the President and are not mandated under current laws to submit their affidavits to the Election Commission.