Bihar's criminal netas feel SC heat

Politicians in Bihar are worried for their seats after the SC made it mandatory for disclosing any criminal cases that they may be accused in or convicted in. The SC has given its orders months ahead of the Bihar elections making parties scout for other candidates.

Patna: The days for people who build their political careers from the criminal world are now over. The hammer of the court has fallen on them. The political parties who give tickets to people with criminal background are supposed to state the reasons for which they are being given tickets and the crimes done by them.

Certainly in that case, the political jobs of half the honourable members sitting in the assembly of Bihar are set to go.

KJ Rao demolished many empires

Once upon a time, the party which was cash-rich and had the backing of a powerful caste was the one to rule. However, the story of change has also been written in Bihar itself. During the 2005 elections, many were banned by officials like KJ Rao. The entire political machinery of parties collapsed as candidates were ineligible to contest the elections.

Each party protected criminals

In 2005, the people of Bihar wrote a story of change where they voted for good governance over corruption. The work of reorganising Bihar, which is known for organised crime gangs and kidnapping industry was a herculean task and change was not made in a night. Parties protected criminal leaders in their ranks and it formed a symbiotic relationship between them.

Criminal cases registered against MLAs

Criminal cases are registered against so many legislators

Talking of the current Legislative Assembly of Bihar, 142 out of 243 MLAs i.e. 58% have criminal cases registered against them. According to Bihar Election Watch, out of the total MLAs with criminal background, 90 i.e. 40% have serious cases like murder, attempt to murder, communal disharmony, kidnapping, crimes against women, in which charges have been framed on 70 MLAs. According to the data, 46 of the current 80 MLAs of the Rashtriya Janata Dal have criminal cases registered against them. At the same time, 34 out of 71 JD(U) MLAs have cases registered against them. Of the 53 BJP MLAs, 34 have criminal backgrounds, while 16 of the 27 Congress MLAs have criminal cases against them.

After the decision of the Supreme Court, politicians are trying to figure out how to overcome this law. The SC has made these things mandatory Just ahead of the elections in Bihar and that has resulted in many sitting leaders worried about their seats.