40% of chief ministers face criminal cases: ADR

New Delhi: Of the 30 Chief Ministers in the country, 12 of them, or 40 per cent, declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a new report by poll rights body ADR.

Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has declared 89 cases against him, the highest, followed by Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, who declared 47.

Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu declared 19, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah declared 13, and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren declared five cases.

Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh Chief Ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Sukhvinder Singh declared four cases each, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan declared two, and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann declared one case.

The report comes as the government brings three bills that seek the removal of the prime minister, Chief Ministers, and ministers arrested for 30 days on serious criminal charges.

According to the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 10, or 33 per cent, of the Chief Ministers have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to attempt to murder, kidnapping, bribery, and criminal intimidation against them.

The ADR said it analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 30 sitting Chief Ministers in state Assemblies and Union Territories.

This data is from affidavits they filed prior to contesting their last elections.