An investigation reveals that 151 serving MPs and MLAs have records related to crimes against women, with the BJP accounting for one-third of these politicians. This revelation comes at a time when the nation is outraged by the rape and murder of a young doctor in Kolkata.

16 politicians, including two MPs, were accused of rape, according to a research by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch (NEW). The analysis examined the election affidavits of 4,693 out of 4,809 parliamentarians, or 755 out of 775 MPs and 4,033 out of 4,693 MLAs.

Crimes against women included rape, cruelty, kidnapping, abduction, or forcing a woman into marriage against her will, assault or criminal force against a woman with the intention of outraging her modesty, buying a minor for prostitution, and words, gestures, or acts meant to offend a woman's modesty.

There are 151 parliamentarians who are being charged with crimes against women; 135 of them are MLAs and 16 are MPs.

crimes against women
Image Source: Her Zindgi

According to the research, the Congress (23) and TDP (17) have the next-highest number of serving MPs and MLAs with allegations of crime against women, behind the BJP with 54. Trinamool Congress has 10 of these legislators, compared to 13 for the AAP.

Rape accusations have been brought against five members of the Congress and BJP legislature. Rape allegations have been brought against one MP from each of the AAP, BAP, AIUDF, Trinamool Congress, and TDP. Regarding the states, West Bengal has the most MPs and MLAs in office with 25, followed by Andhra Pradesh with 21 and Odisha with 17.

According to the ADR and NEW, all major political parties support candidates who have committed crimes against women, including rape, and as a result, they jeopardize the safety and civil rights of women.

Judicial Oversight and Political Accountability for Crimes Against Women

"These are serious cases where charges have been framed and cognizance have been taken by the courts. These figures reveal the grave malaise and travesty in our political system where the rich and powerful MPs/MLAs with cases related to crime against women are able to subvert the system, use their influence to interfere with the police investigations, use the judicial delays to their advantage and in some cases continuously harass the victims and their families," it said.

The proposal put out was to ban candidates with criminal records from running for office and to accelerate and settle charges against Members of Parliament and Legislative Assemblies in a timely manner, under the supervision of a court and following a comprehensive and professional police investigation.

“As directed by the Supreme Court in February 2020, Political parties should declare reasons why candidates with criminal cases are given tickets to contest elections...Voters should desist from electing candidates with self-declared cases related to crime against women and other heinous crimes,” it added.

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