The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has released a report detailing criminal cases declared by Indian chief ministers. The findings indicate that 40 percent of the 30 chief ministers analyzed, or 12 individuals, have declared criminal cases against themselves. Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy has the most declared cases with 89. Following him is Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin with 47 cases. The report also highlights that Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has 19 declared cases, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah has 13, and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren has 5. Furthermore, Devendra Fadnavis and Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief ministers of Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh, have 4 cases each. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has 2 declared cases, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has 1. This report has emerged as the government introduced three bills. These bills propose that prime ministers, chief ministers, and ministers arrested on serious criminal charges can be removed from office for 30 days. The report further notes that 10 chief ministers, representing 33 percent, have declared serious criminal cases. These serious cases include charges related to attempted murder, kidnapping, bribery, and criminal intimidation. The ADR’s report is based on an analysis of self-declared affidavits submitted by all 30 current chief ministers of states and union territories. These affidavits were submitted before they participated in their last elections.
