12% of the Current Rajya Sabha Members are Billionaires: Report

New Delhi: In a Recent Analysis conducted by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Election Watch (NEW), startling revelations have come to light about the composition of the Rajya Sabha, India’s upper house of Parliament. The report exposes that approximately 12 percent of the current members of the Rajya Sabha, the council of states, are billionaires, while the property holdings of certain members have crossed the 100 crore mark. The report delved into criminal, financial, and other backgrounds of 225 out of the 233 Rajya Sabha members, with one seat currently vacant.

The study disclosed that the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana harbor the highest number of billionaire parliamentarians, accounting for 45 percent and 43 percent respectively. Maharashtra, Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, and Madhya Pradesh also featured members who declared assets surpassing 100 crore rupees.

The report highlighted that the cumulative assets of 11 members from Andhra Pradesh total Rs 3,823 crore, while seven members from Telangana possess assets worth Rs 5,596 crore. Uttar Pradesh, on the other hand, saw its 30 Rajya Sabha members amass a combined asset value of Rs 1,941 crore.

Shedding light on a concerning aspect, the analysis found that out of the 225 members examined, 75 (33 percent) have criminal cases against them, with around 18 percent facing serious criminal charges. Shockingly, two members were found to have declared cases related to murder under Section 302 of the Indian Penal Code.

The Report also highlighted instances of crimes against women, with four Rajya Sabha members having cases against them. K. C. Venugopal, a member from Rajasthan, was among those who declared a case related to rape (Section 376 of IPC).

Breaking down the statistics by political affiliation, the report pointed out that 27 percent of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members, 40 percent of Congress members, 31 percent of Trinamool Congress members, 83 percent of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) members, 80 percent of Communist Party of India (CPIM-M) members, 30 percent of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) members, 33 percent of Y.S.R. Congress Party members, and 67 percent of Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) members in the Rajya Sabha have declared criminal cases in their affidavits.