JOIN USSolve cases against politicos swiftly: PM
Putting his election promise into action, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has directed the ministries of home and law to review pending criminal cases against parliamentarians for expediting them as early as possible.
During Lok Sabha elections as well as while delivering his maiden speech in Parliament, Modi had said that he would like the cases against MPs to be decided in a year and for that he would approach the Supreme Court for speedy disposal of cases against tainted politicians.
Modi has told Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad to jointly find a mechanism for speedy disposal of criminal cases pending against politicians. This would not only help cleanse politics of the taint but exonerate politicians facing false charges.
The Association for Democratic Reforms in its report has said that 186 parliamentarians are facing cases. The study also pointed out that 71 re-elected MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves. While 13 members have shown an increase in cases faced by them from previous polls, 21 have declared fresh criminal charges this year only.
BJP MP from Agra, Ramshankar Katheria, has declared the highest increase in criminal cases he was facing – from zero in 2009 to 21 cases presently.
Several top leaders of different parties are facing charges ranging from indulging in corruption to being involved in fake encounters.
BJP president Amit Shah has also been charge-sheeted by the CBI in the Gujarat fake encounters. Other than that, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalitha and RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav are among those facing corruption charges.
BJP leaders believe that Modi’s stand on time-bound investigation and trial of cases involving politicians is borne out of his own experience since for a decade he was under the media glare for Gujarat riots.