28 ministers of new Modi govt have declared criminal cases: ADR
New Delhi, Jun 11: Twenty-eight ministers in the third Narendra Modi government have criminal cases against them with 19 of them facing serious charges such as attempted murder, crimes against women and hate speech, poll rights body Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) said.
Among the ministers facing the most severe allegations, two have declared cases related to attempt to murder under Indian Penal Code section 307.
They are Shantanu Thakur, minister of state for ports, shipping and waterways, and Sukanta Majumdar, minister of state for education and Development of North Eastern Region, the ADR said.
The ADR report also highlighted that five ministers have cases related to crimes against women.
They are Minister of State (MoS) for Home Bandi Sanjay Kumar, Thakur, Majumdar, MoS for Petroleum and Natural Gas and Tourism Suresh Gopi and Tribal Affairs Minister Jual Oram.
Additionally, the ADR report identifies eight ministers with cases related to hate speech.
A total of 28 out of 71 ministers (39 per cent) have declared criminal cases, it said.
The new Council of Ministers that took the oath on June 9 has 72 members, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
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Goa Cong MP says he got ECI notice asking him to prove identity to retain name in electoral rolls
Panaji (PTI): Congress' Lok Sabha MP from South Goa Viriato Fernandes has alleged that he received a notice from the Election Commission of India (ECI), in which he was asked to appear before it with documents to prove his identity in order to retain his name in the electoral rolls.
Fernandes, a former Navy officer, said that subjecting an MP to this kind of scrutiny confirms concerns raised by the Opposition that the ECI's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) was aimed at deleting the names of legitimate voters to prevent them from participating in the voting process.
The Chief Electoral Office (CEO) in Goa, however, later issued a clarification, saying the MP's enumeration form was placed under the "unmapped" category and a hearing notice was automatically generated and issued to him as mandatory details were not filled in.
In a social media post, Fernandes said, "Received notice from the ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain his name in electoral roll. This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024, including me, with the highest level of scrutiny before clearing name for contesting the elections."
"Incidentally, I have been voting since 1989 after becoming eligible, thanks to late PM Shri Rajiv Gandhi Ji's initiative of giving voting rights for 18 year olds," he said.
He said he has travelled to Goa multiple times "from far off places of military posting" during his 26 years of service in the Indian Navy just to cast his vote, be it for Lok Sabha, assembly or zilla panchayat election.
"If a Member of Parliament can be subjected to this scrutiny, wonder the state of a common man, confirming concerns raised (by) Opposition parties and NGOs/Citizens about SIR being carried out by ECI to delete names of legitimate voters and prevent (them) from participating in the democratic process of voting," he added.
In the clarification issued later, the Goa CEO said, "During the course of the SIR, the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of Part No. 19 collected the enumeration form pertaining to the Hon'ble Member of Parliament, Captain Viriato Hipolito Mendonca Fernandes."
It was observed that the enumeration form did not contain mandatory details of the last SIR, including the assembly constituency number, part number and serial number in the electoral roll. As these essential particulars were not filled in, the BLO application could not automatically link the form with the existing electoral roll record, it said.
Accordingly, in the present case, the enumeration form was placed under the "unmapped" category by the system, and a hearing notice was generated and issued automatically as per the prescribed procedure, the CEO said, adding that the matter was under inquiry.
Received notice from ECI to appear with documents for proving my identity in order to retain my name in electoral roll. This notice is coming on the backdrop of ECI having subjected every contestant during last Lok Sabha polls in 2024 including me with the highest level of… pic.twitter.com/BMWrzw26yC
— Capt. Viriato Fernandes (@ViriatoFern) January 7, 2026
