Background check: lawmakers with crime against women -Governance Now

Background check: lawmakers with crime against women

While parliamentarians fret and fume over Delhi gangrape, India has 2 MPs and 6 MLAs who declared in their affidavit to EC that they carry rape charge. Can we start the cleanup from top?

Tanvi Nalin | December 20, 2012

Barely 48 hours after parliamentarians showed disgust, outrage and their “helplessness” following the gangrape in the national capital, it emerges that two members of parliament and six MLAs carry charges of rape against them.

According to a report collated by two NGOs and released today, these lawmakers disclosed this in their sworn affidavits before the election commission before the elections.

The report says 36 other MLAs declared that they are charged in other cases of crime against women — such as outraging the modesty of a woman and assault, among others. Incidentally, as many as eight of these accused MLAs come from Uttar Pradesh — a state ruled by the Samajwadi Party, whose MP Jaya Bachchan shed tears in Rajya Sabha while ruing that this is no country for woman. Seven each come from Odisha and West Bengal, the latter administered by a woman chief minister who had, earlier this year blamed a rape victim in Kolkata for “encouraging” the accused.

If parliamentarians are dismayed and outraged by rising incidents of rape, their parties could do some soul-searching and cleanse their own selves first. How about not giving tickets to people charged with such crimes as a starter?

Highlights of the report compiled by the NGOs Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW):

MPs, MLAs

6 MLAs have declared that they carry charges of rape in sworn affidavits submitted with the election commission

Of six MLAs with declared rape cases, three are from Samajwadi Party (Sribhagwan Sharma, Anoop Sanda and Manoj Kumar Paras; all from Uttar Pradesh), and one each from BSP (Mohd Aleem Khan; UP), BJP (Jethabhai G Ahir; Gujarat) and Telugu Desam Party (Kandikunta Venkata Prasad; Andhra Pradesh).

36 other MLAs declared that they have other charges of crime against women, including outraging the modesty of a woman, assault, and insulting the modesty of a woman.

Of these 36, six MLAs are from Congress, five from BJP and three from SP.

UP has the maximum number of MLAs (8) who declared they carry charges of crime against women, followed by Odisha and West Bengal (7 MLAs each).

Two MPs — Semmalai S. of ADMK (Salem constituency, Tamil Nadu) and Adhikari Suvendu of Trinamool Congress (Tamluk, West Bengal) — declared that they have been charged with crime against women, such as cruelty and intent to outrage a woman’s modesty, among others.

Candidates

Different political parties gave tickets to 27 candidates charged with rape to contest assembly elections in the last five years.
Of these, 7 are Independent candidates, 5 were given tickets by SP, while 2 each by the BJP and BSP.
Of 27 candidates who declared rape charges, 10 are from Uttar Pradesh and 5 from Bihar.
Parties also gave tickets to 260 other contestants in assembly elections held in the last five years who declared that they have charges of crime against women.
Of these 260, 72 are independent candidates, 24 were given tickets by BJP, 26 by Congress, 16 by the SP and 18 contested on BSP ticket.
Maharashtra has the maximum number of such candidates (41), followed by Uttar Pradesh (37) and West Bengal (22).
In 2009 Lok Sabha elections, parties gave tickets to six candidates who declared that they have been charged with rape.
Three of these candidates come from Bihar, and one each from Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh
34 other candidates who contested 2009 general elections declared that they carry charges of crime against women.
Maximum cases of crimes against women are against candidates from Bihar (9), followed by Maharashtra (6), and Uttar Pradesh (5).

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