In New Modi govt, 51 ministers are crorepatis, 22 face criminal cases: ADR
New Delhi, May 31: Of the 56 ministers who took oath on Thursday and are part of either the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, 51 are crorepatis and 22 have declared criminal cases against themselves, according to election watchdog Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
It said eight ministers have declared their educational qualification to be between 10th and 12th standard, while 47 are graduates. One minister holds a diploma.
The ADR released the findings after analysing affidavits of 56 of the 58 ministers, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, from the 17th Lok Sabha and the current Rajya Sabha.
The details of Lok Janshakti Party chief Ram Vilas Paswan, who is the minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution, and External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar were not analysed as they are not members of Parliament currently.
Of the 56 ministers analysed, 22 (39 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves, while 16 (29 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases, including those related to attempt to murder, communal disharmony, electoral violations etc., the ADR said.
When compared with data from the 16th Lok Sabha, the number of ministers with criminal cases has risen by eight percentage points, while the count of those with serious criminal cases has increased by 12 percentage points, it said.
Six ministers have declared cases related to promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, etc. Three ministers, including firebrand BJP leaders Giriraj Singh and Ashwini Kumar Chaubey, have declared cases of poll code violation against themselves.
The ADR said 51 (91 per cent) of the ministers are crorepatis. On an average, each minister has assets worth Rs 14.72 crore.
Four ministers, including Home Minister Amit Shah, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and Shiromani Akali Dal's Harsimrat Kaur Badal, have declared assets worth more than Rs 40 crore.
Only five ministers, including first-timers Kailash Chaudhary and Rameswar Teli, have declared assets worth less than Rs 1 crore.
These also include Pratap Chandra Sarangi from Odisha's Balasore who is famous for his austere lifestyle. He has declared assets worth around Rs 13 lakh, according to the ADR.
Eleven ministers are aged between 41 and 50, while 45 have declared their age to be between 51 and 70 years.
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Spain rejects White House claim of military cooperation with US in Iran war
Madrid: Spain has rejected a claim by the White House that Madrid had agreed to cooperate militarily with the United States amid the ongoing conflict with Iran, even as US President Donald Trump warned of trade consequences over Spain’s stance.
Al Jazeera reported that White House spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Wednesday that Spain had reconsidered its earlier position of not allowing its military bases to be used in the war against Iran.
“With respect to Spain, I think they heard the president’s message yesterday loud and clear, and it’s my understanding, over the past several hours, they’ve agreed to cooperate with the US military,” Leavitt said.
Clearly denying the assertion, Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the claim was incorrect and insisted that Madrid’s position had not changed. “Not a single comma has changed, and I have no idea whatsoever what they might be referring to,” Albares said in an interview with the Hora25 radio programme.
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Trump had earlier criticised Spain’s opposition to the war, describing its stance as “terrible” and threatening economic retaliation. “We’re going to cut off all trade with Spain. We don’t want anything to do with Spain,” he said on Tuesday.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez reaffirmed his government’s opposition to the conflict, recalling past military interventions in the region. “The world, Europe, and Spain have faced this critical moment before. In 2003, a few irresponsible leaders dragged us into an illegal war in the Middle East that brought nothing but insecurity and pain,” Sánchez wrote on social media.
He added that Spain’s position remained firmly against war, violations of international law and “the illusion that we can solve the world’s problems with bombs”.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian praised Spain’s stand, saying it reflected ethical responsibility.
“Spain’s responsible conduct in opposing the Zionist-American coalition’s flagrant human rights violations and military aggression against countries, including Iran, shows that ethics and awakened consciences still exist in the West,” he wrote in a post on social media.
Within Europe, Spain has been among the few countries to openly oppose the attacks on Iran. The European Union has instead called for de-escalation and protection of civilians without directly rejecting the US and Israeli military action.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said Iran’s missile and nuclear programmes and its support for armed groups pose a serious threat to global security, adding that the bloc has imposed sanctions on Tehran while continuing to back diplomatic engagement on the nuclear issue.
