Almost 50% of ministers in India have criminal cases, ADR reveals, TDP leads
New Delhi: Nearly 47% of Ministers in India, including those in the Union Cabinet and State Cabinets have declared criminal cases against them. According to a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) 27% of ministers are facing serious charges of murder, kidnapping and crimes against women.
The non-profit analysed self-sworn affidavits of 643 Ministers from 27 State Assemblies, three Union Territories and the Union Council of Ministers, according to a report by The Hindu. Of them, 302 Ministers reported criminal cases, including 174 with serious charges.
Among political parties, the BJP has 336 Ministers, 136 of whom face criminal cases, including 88 with serious allegations. The Congress has 45 Ministers with criminal cases, 18 of them serious. In the DMK, 27 of 31 Ministers face criminal charges, while 14 are serious. The TMC has 13 of 40 Ministers with criminal records, eight of them serious.
The Telugu Desam Party (TDP) recorded the highest proportion, with 22 of its 23 Ministers facing criminal cases, including 13 with serious charges. In AAP, 11 of 16 Ministers have cases, with five serious.
Nationally, 29 of the 72 Union Ministers declared criminal cases. More than 60% of Ministers in Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Bihar, Odisha, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Punjab, Telangana, Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, and Puducherry face criminal charges, while Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Nagaland, and Uttarakhand reported none.
The findings follows the Centre’s decision to introduced three Bills seeking to remove Prime Ministers, Chief Ministers and Ministers arrested or detained for 30 consecutive days on serious criminal charges carrying punishment of five years or more.
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Australia wins Ashes series 4-1 with a five-wicket victory in Sydney
Sydney (AP): Australia completed a 4-1 Ashes series victory with a five-wicket win in the fifth and final cricket test on Thursday.
The Australians bowled England out for 342 on the fifth morning of the series finale and were chasing 160 for victory.
Tension grew with a succession of wickets and a contentious DRS review before Alex Carey hit the winning runs to guide the Australians to 161 for five in 31 overs.
Carey finished unbeaten on 16, Cameron Green was unbeaten on 22, and 39-year-old Usman Khawaja was sent into retirement with a victory.
The Australians retained the Ashes with wins in the first three tests, but England was determined to narrow the margin after its drought-breaking win in the Boxing Day match at Melbourne.
Khawaja's kiss goodbye
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The 39-year-old veteran walked to the crease after Steve Smith was bowled by Will Jacks and Australia was 92-3. He was given a guard of honor from the England players lining his way to the pitch, shook hands with Stokes and then gave teammate Marnus Labuschagne a hug.
He got off the mark with a paddled reverse sweep to the boundary and edged another ball between the wicketkeeper and Stokes at first slip for another 2.
Labuschagne had a chance on 20 when he slashed at a short ball from Tongue and was dropped by Bethell. Labuschagne took 16 off the next over, bowled by Jacks to get the chase down to 41.
That's when Khawaja was out — his last innings lasting seven deliveries and netting six runs — when he dragged a delivery from Josh Tongue onto his stumps. He kneeled and kissed the turf in front of a “Thankyou Uzzy” sign that was painted onto the field, and walked back to the pavilion for the last time after 88 test matches.
Labuschagne was then run out for 37 off 40 balls when he drove to mid-off and took off for a single, only to get sent back by Carey.
At that stage, Australia was 121-5 and tension was building until Carey and Green guided the hosts home.
Fifth morning
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England resumed on Day 5 at 302-8, a lead of 119 runs, and was bowled out for 342, a 159-run lead with 2 1/2 sessions remaining.
Mitchell Starc dismissed Jacob Bethell for 154 and Tongue (6) to finish off the England innings and finish the series with 31 wickets at an average of 19.9. The haul of wickets and some important runs earned him the player of the series honors.
The Australians started their second innings quickly, scoring 10 in the first over — including a pair of boundaries from Travis Head, who has scored three centuries in the series.
Head was caught in the deep for 29 and finished with 629 runs across five tests.
After getting a major reprieve on a contentious DRS decision on 16, Jake Weatherald misjudged a short ball from Tongue and his top edge was caught out for 34.
Contentious call
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England's continued bad luck with the decision review system added extra spice to the last day of the series.
England reviewed umpire Ahsan Raza's not out decision to a caught behind appeal when Weatherald wafted at a delivery from Brydon Carse with Australia on 33-0.
DRS technology appeared to show a slight murmur when the ball passed the toe of Weatherald's bat before going through to the wicketkeeper. But TV umpire Kumar Dharmasena deemed there was inconclusive evidence the ball touched the bat.
The England players were stunned, after watching the DRS replays on the stadium screens, and Stokes had to step in to move Carse away from umpire Raza as he demanded an explanation. Stokes calmly approached the umpire, discussed the decision-making process, and got on with the game.
Crowd record
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The total crowd across five days of the fifth test was 211,032, a record for the Sydney Cricket Ground.
