Punjab and Haryana HC comes to the rescue of lesbian couple

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July 23, 2020

A young lesbian couple was provided relief by the Punjab and Haryana High Court when the court directed the Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mohali to assess the threat to the couple and provide security if required.

The girls had been living together for six months and were facing threats from their families. They had moved court seeking protection. While same sex relationships were decriminalised by a landmark Supreme Court judgment in 2018, same sex marriages are yet to be brought under the purview of the law. However, the court observed that the legitimacy of their relationship is of no consequence when it comes to their life and liberty and ordered the SSP Mohali to look into the threat to their lives.

The order by Justice Monga, as reported by the Indian Express said, “Social ethos, outlook and the philosophy appears to be evolving amongst gay couples so as to gather courage and openly come out of their closets, even though gay marriage is not yet legitimate as per the applicable marriage laws in the country, And, therefore, the live in relationships.”

The order went on to say, “Be that as it may, the petitioners are entitled to protection of their lives and liberty as envisaged under Article 21 of the Constitution of India, regardless of the nature of relationship between them. Assuming, they were living simply as friends together, even then they are constitutionally entitled to live in peace. Legitimacy of their relationship with each other, therefore, is of no consequence viz-a-viz their right to life and liberty.”

Sweekar – Accepting LGBT children

Dalit boy allegedly thrashed, forced to eat excreta by upper caste Hindu man

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July 23, 2020

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On Tuesday night, a 46-year-old caste Hindu man was arrested near Pennagaram, Tamil Nadu, for allegedly assaulting a 14-year-old Dalit boy and forcing him to carry and eat feces, The New Indian Express (TNIE) reported.

The accused, K Rajasekar of the Kodarampatti village in Pennagaram, was produced before a Principal District Judge on Tuesday, July 21, and remanded to the Dharmapuri sub-jail after testing negative for Covid-19.

An FIR against Rajasekar was registered on the basis of a complaint by the victim’s family against him at the Pennagaram police station. TNIE reported that as per the FIR, Rajasekar saw the boy allegedly defecating on his property and assaulted him. Apart from this, Rajasekar also reportedly made him eat the feces and carry it with his bare hands. The boy carried the excreta and fled from the property. Rajasekar also allegedly yelled casteist slurs and verbally abused the teenager.

The Quint reported the boy’s father as saying, “It was raining heavily on July 15 and my son got an umbrella from me and left home for defecating in the open. We have a toilet constructed by the Central government but we do not have water, so we defecate in the open. On that day, my child was defecating on the land owned by Rajasekhar, when he passed by that way. On seeing the child, he immediately got down from the vehicle and started hitting my son with a cane for defecating in the open.”

Rajasekar was booked under Section 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) of the IPC and Section 3 (j) of the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act for “forcing SC persons to do manual scavenging”, TNIE reported.

A similar incident had taken place in Tamil Nadu in 2015 where a government school teacher in Namakkal had allegedly forced a Class II student to clean human excreta in the classroom. However, the teacher was sentenced to five years’ rigorous imprisonment only in 2020 after the Dalit student’s parents filed a police complaint with the help of local Dalit outfits, reported The Indian Express.

In April 2019, two people belonging to the upper caste were arrested for allegedly urinating on a Dalit man’s face, forcing him to eat human excreta and brutally assaulting him with sticks in Tiruvarur, reported Scroll.In

Atrocities on Dalits increase during lockdown

Caste atrocities in Tamil Nadu have increased nearly five-fold in the lockdown, Dalit organisations told The Caravan. Collating the data on the rise of anti-Dalit atrocities, Vincent Raj, the founder of Evidence, an organisation which works for Dalit rights, told The Caravan, “According to our studies, which we conduct on a regular basis, every month in Tamil Nadu there are about 100 to 125 cases filed under Atrocities act, five to seven of them being brutal.” He added that the number of atrocities against Dalits were five, eight and six in January, February and March this year, respectively.

Insult and humiliation have been the most commonly used tools by the upper castes against the Dalits. To add to this, the state government’s apathy towards the community has made the situation even more precarious. Neethirajan, one of the founders of the Tamil Nadu Untouchability Eradication Front told The Caravan that the state’s prominent parties – the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam, had not implemented schemes like the Special Component Plan (SCP) which called for special fund allocations for Dalits.

In 2018, as per the data by the National Crime Records Bureau, Tamil Nadu had recorded 1,413 cases of crimes against SC/STs. This evidence – state negligence and lack of efforts at economic upliftment – points to the overall systemic rot which has aided the occurrence of these incidents.

Do Dalit lives matter in India?: Reflecting on condition of Dalits and apathy

Uttar Pradesh: Dalit teen allegedly shot by upper caste men for praying at village temple

UP Congress minority cell launches campaign for Dr. Kafeel Khan’s release

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July 23, 2020

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In a move that is likely to ruffle the feathers of the BJP government in Uttar Pradesh, the resurgent Congress has decided to launch a three-week long campaign for the release of jailed Dr. Kafeel Khan, reported National Herald (NH).

Dr. Kafeel Khan who has been languishing in a Mathura jail, was arrested by the UP government for allegedly making provocative speeches at an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protest at the Aligarh Muslim University (AMU). He was charged under the stringent National Security Act (NSA) to ensure his continuous incarceration.

In June, in a purportedly hand-written letter, Dr. Khan had described the conditions at the Mathura prison. He had highlighted the unhygienic and filthy living conditions, unpalatable meals and the risk to life due to congestion and no social distancing. He had earlier written to PM Modi in March, pleading that he be released and allowed to use his medical expertise to help people during the pandemic.

National Herald reported that the campaign for the release of Dr. Khan would be monitored by the head of the UP Congress minority cell, Shahnawaz Alam, who had himself spent 16 days in jail for allegedly participating in an anti-CAA protest in Lucknow.

As per the plan, in a door-to-door campaign that started on July 22 and is set to go on till August 12, people throughout the state will be asked to sign memorandums and make videos demanding the release of Dr. Khan.

Alam also mentioned that the Congress would mobilise the minority community in UP to build pressure on the government for Dr. Khan’s release. Speaking to NH, Alam said, “We will reach out to clerics, madarsas, educational institutes, self-help groups, members of civil society and ask them to raise their voice in favour of our demand. Congress will use each and every forum, media, symbol to mobilize people against BJP’s brutal regime…On behalf of Priyanka Gandhi, the party will offer a Chadar at every dargah in the state in order to galvanize support for Dr. Khan.”

The civil society has been routinely campaigning for Dr. Khan’s release, as well as the release of other ‘political prisoners’ who have been targeted for dissenting against the UP government.

On July 19, a couple of days after Dr. Khan’s letter from prison became public, people took to Twitter to demand his release. The Times of India reported that over 1 lakh posts were put up in less than four hours, calling for Dr. Khan and other ‘political prisoners’ to be immediately set free. Prior to that the medical fraternity had joined the cause in seeking his freedom.

Before being arrested by the UP government for his alleged provocative speeches during the anti-CAA protests, Dr. Kafeel Khan had suffered a nine-month long incarceration and was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government for alleged medical negligence in the case of the BRD Medical College in Gorakhpur, where the lack of oxygen supply had taken the lives of more than 60 children. However, he was given a clean-chit in the matter and acquitted in the case after a government-appointed inquiry.

Kafeel Khan describes prison to be ‘a living hell’ in letter from jail

Journalism is a hazardous profession in Uttar Pradesh

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July 23, 2020

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To be a Journalist in Uttar Pradesh, or one reporting from the Adityanath-led state has a unique kind of challenge. Write anything that so much as hints at an administrative lacune, or a faulty policy, or highlights the dismal law and order situation, or makes any politician, policeman or bureaucrat upset, and be prepared to receive arrest warrants and legal notices. That is if you are lucky, you have lived to tell the tale, and fight a long legal battle for just doing your job as a journalist.

Unfortunately there are scores more who are physically attacked. The annual World Press Index, put together by Paris-based Reporters Without Borders, has placed India at a low 142nd position. Recently the Rights and Risks Analysis Group (RRAG) released a report listed about 55 journalists who were targeted for doing their jobs during the Covid-19 lockdown. Uttar Pradesh topped the list with 11 journalists being targeted. The number has gone up since the report came out.

According to a recent report in the Caravan magazine, the National Human Rights Commission issued a notice to the chief secretary of Lucknow on June 22, “regarding a complaint accusing the Uttar Pradesh administration of cracking down on a journalist for reporting unflattering news..

The recent murder of Ghaziabad-based journalist Vikram Joshi, near his home, has brought back memories of how the media has been treated in the state in recent times. Here are a few of them:

June 2020: FIR against Supriya Sharma for reporting on poverty during lockdown

A First Information Report (FIR) was filed in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, against journalist, Supriya Sharma, the Executive Editor of the news portal Scroll. She had filed ground reports from Varanasi on the effects of the Covid-19 lockdown on common people. She was booked under various charges including the SC/ST Act, Section 501 of the Indian Penal Code, Section 269. Sharma had done a story on the hardships faced by a Varanasi resident, who later filed a complaint against the journalist alleging that she had been misquoted. The story may be read here: UP Police booked the FIR against the senior journalist, under multiple sections.

April 2020: Case against Siddharth Varadarajan for report on lockdown violation

Even though the interstate borders were sealed, the Uttar Pradesh government summoned a senior Delhi journalist to Ayodhya, during the lockdown. The UP police sent plain clothed policemen to Siddharth Varadarajan’s Delhi residence to summon him to appear in Ayodhya on April 14. He was asked to appear in connection with a case registered against him by Uttar Pradesh Police, which took exception to a factual report in his publication. The Wire article had stated that UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and other people had attended a religious ceremony in Ayodhya after the national lockdown was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi . The question most asked then was this: Why is the UP government targeting journalists?

April 2020: Prashant Kanojia, booked for ‘objectionable remarks’ against PM, UP CM

The Delhi-based freelance journalist, Prashant Jagdish Kanojia, was booked for allegedly making defamatory remarks on social media against Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Shashank Shekhar Singh, a BJP leader, had complained to the Aashiana police, and a case was registered against Kanojia. The FIR was registered on the charges of defamation, printing or engraving matter known to be defamatory, circulating mischievous comments and obscenity under the Information and Technology Act. However, this isn’t the first time Kanojia has been booked. He was once earlier arrested by the Lucknow police for making objectionable posts against CM Adityanath. At the time, he was released on bail by the Supreme Court after journalists and his supporters held protests against his arrest in various parts of the country.

May 2020: FIR against Ravindra Saxena, for reporting on negligence at a quarantine centre

According to a report in Newslaundry, the Uttar Pradesh administration has lodged an FIR against Ravindra Saxena, a journalist at Today-24 news portal for reporting on the mismanagement and negligence at a quarantine centre in Sitapur district. Saxena had done a video report, stated NL, after speaking to people at a quarantine centre in Maholi tehsil of Sitapur district of eastern Uttar Pradesh, who alleged that they were served rotten rice. He was slapped with an FIR. He had then told NL that a case against him had been filed, alleging that he had violated the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe (Prevention of Atrocities) Act and the Disaster Management Act. “The FIR has been registered on the orders of the CM,” he had claimed.

March 2020: Notice sent to Vijay Vineet and Manish Mishra for reporting on hunger

Journalists Vijay Vineet and Manish Mishra, of the Hindi paper Jansandesh Times, had filed a report from Varanasi district, where members of the Musahar community, a Dalit sub-caste, had to eat wild grass seeds to keep from starving. According to a report in the Caravan magazine, they were served a legal notice on the same day. Kaushal Raj Sharma, the district magistrate of Varanasi had termed the article “false,” adding that it was a “sickening attempt to stigmatise the Musahar families.” He demanded that the report be rescinded and that the newspaper issue an apology in the following day’s edition, adding that an inquiry would be launched if this was not done, said the news report.

December 2019: Omar Rashid, detained, communally abused

While covering the anti Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) protests journalists too were in the line of fire. Omar Rashid, a correspondent with The Hindu who was in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, to cover the protests was picked up by the police along with a local activist Robin Verma, from a dhaba outside the Uttar Pradesh BJP office where they were having a meal. “They packed the two of us into a police jeep, snatched my mobile phone and asked me to not call or inform anyone or I would regret it,” he had said. The media later reported that they were then taken to the Hazratganj police station where Robin was beaten up and the journalist was detained, communally abused and questioned by UP police.

Sept 2019: Case against journalist for exposing roti-salt mid-day meal at Mirzapur

A case was registered against journalist Pawan Jaiswal for a video report that showed children at a government primary school in Uttar Pradesh’s Mirzapur district, being fed only rotis and salt for the mid-day meal. According to the website of the Uttar Pradesh Mid Day Meal Authority, students at government schools are supposed to get a variety of food including pulses, rice, rotis, vegetables and even fruits as mid-day meals.

According to news reports, a case was registered by the Block Education Officer (BDO) of the area, who accused the journalist of “maligning the image of the state government.”

No democracy is fighting the pandemic by gagging its media

San Francisco passes resolution opposing discriminatory CAA, NRC and NPR

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July 22, 2020

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Image Courtesy:clarionindia.net

The Alliance for Justice and Accountability (AJA), an umbrella organization of progressive South Asian groups across the United States, in coordination with the local San Francisco community, today welcomed the resolution passed by the San Francisco Board of Supervisors denouncing India’s draconian Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and the National Population Register (NPR).

The resolution was jointly worked upon by AJA and other local San Francisco organizations like the American Institute of Islamic History and Culture, San Francisco Interfaith Council, the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and the San Francisco Muslim Community Center, AJA said in a statement.

San Francisco has now become the sixth city in the US after Seattle (Washington), Albany (New York), St. Paul (Minnesota), Hamtramck (Michigan) and Cambridge (Massachusetts) to pass a resolution denouncing the CAA, NRC and NPR.

CAA and NRC violate norms of a secular democracy

In its statement, AJA said the CAA and NRC sought to render millions of people among minorities and caste oppressed stateless, for many had been living in India for generations but did not have caste certificates. It added, “Their use of religion as a criterion for selectively granting citizenship to immigrants of certain communities is a flagrant violation of all norms of secular democracies besides being inconsistent with India’s Constitution that guarantees equality before the law for people of all faiths.”

The resolution which was passed by a unanimous vote categorically opposed the CAA, NRC and NPR as “discriminatory to Muslims, caste oppressed, women, indigenous peoples, and the LGBTQ community.” It also denounced “any other efforts that render vulnerable populations anywhere to become stateless, scapegoated, and targeted for discrimination, violence, and the abrogation of human rights that are universal to one and all.”

It also raised concerns on how the CAA and NRC would create a massive refugee and health crisis and mentioned that the bigoted policies of President Trump had been mirrored by Indian PM Narendra Modi and the BJP and their alarming ideology that Hindus are racially and culturally superior to others.

Hala Hijazi, a Commissioner on the San Francisco Human Rights Commission and a board member of the San Francisco Muslim Community Center and San Francisco Interfaith Council, expressed pride in the City and County of San Francisco. Hijazi was quoted as saying, “When genocidal campaigns begin, one important intervention is international condemnation, and the Bay Area community feels a deep sense of solidarity with their elects, as the time to stand against the Indian government’s Islamophobic policies is now.”

AJA quoted Sharmin Hossain of Equality Labs who stated that the resolution highlighted the significance of standing up for caste-oppressed minorities and said, “Thousands of organizers across the country have called, e-mailed, and organized to amplify this Resolution, and it sets an example to cities across the United States – that we do not stand on the side of genocide.”

Nazeer Ahmed of the American Institute and Institute of Islamic History and Culture said, “India is creating a refugee crisis of biblical proportions. It will impact civil society in many parts of the world including the United States.”

Mentioning that Genocide Watch had issued two separate genocide alerts for the states of Assam and Kashmir, Mr. Ahsan Khan, President of Indian American Muslim Council (IAMC) said, “In this context, San Francisco’s decision to stand with oppressed minorities in India sends a clear message on where people of conscience around the world stand in regards to the deepening crisis in India. Today’s development will resonate across the US and beyond.”

In conclusion, the resolution called on the support of other municipalities in the US to urge the Parliament of India to uphold the Indian Constitution by repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act, stop the National Register of Citizens, close all detention facilities detaining de-naturalized citizens, take steps towards helping refugees by ratifying various UN treaties on refugees, explore U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

Previously too, the Indian government has been called out for its failure to preserve India’s flailing social fabric.

Last month, US Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden called out the Centre’s repression of minority communities in India, especially the treatment of people in Kashmir in wake of the abrogation of Article 370.

Prior to that, The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) in its Annual Report for 2020 painted a bleak picture of how India treated her religious minorities. It had recommended that the US Government not only designate India as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), but also impose targeted sanctions on Indian government agencies.

Under-Secretary-General Adama Dieng, United Nations Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide had also raised several key questions about the growth of hate speech and especially the targeting of the Muslim community in wake of the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and the nationwide agitation against it.

The complete resolution by the City and County of San Francisco may be read below.

Another explosion at Baghjan oil well injures three foreign experts

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July 22, 2020

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Image Courtesy:hindustantimes.com

The Baghjan Well no. 5 operated by Oil India Limited (OIL) witnessed another explosion on July 22, in which as many as three foreign experts were said to be injured. The incident took place when efforts to douse the blowout fire were underway, reported ANI. The experts have been rushed to the hospital, said Tridip Hazarika, spokesperson OIL in a statement.

Assam: An explosion occurred near well no.5 of Oil India in Baghjan, Tinsukia. 3 foreign experts at the site injured. They have been rushed to hospital. The incident occurred when operations to douse the fire at Baghjan oil field was going on. The operation has been halted now. https://t.co/d8mzsmwdPc pic.twitter.com/0azjUzRRrR
— ANI (@ANI) July 22, 2020

It was reported that experts from US and Canada who had joined officials from Singapore’s Alert Disaster Control for well capping operations, were injured in the incident. The fire at the Baghjan well no. 5 has been raging since June 9 following a gas blowout.

Experts had wished to exit operations

The Hindu had reported that a few days prior to this incident, the six experts working to control the fire had conveyed that they wanted to exit the operations. It was said that they were however virtually held captive in torrential rains after locals had blocked all exits from the Baghjan blowout site to demand compensation for one of the residents who had allegedly ended his life due to delay in receiving compensation.

Sukleshwar Neog, a 45-year-old fish farmer had allegedly died by suicide due to mental harassment and reported delays in receiving compensation from authorities. His family and relatives had refused to accept his mortal remains and staged a road blockade to get the administration to meet their demands.

After intense negotiations with the locals, in a written assurance, the Tinsukia District Administration had said that the interim financial compensation to those affected by the Baghjan gas well blowout will be resolved by July 27, The Telegraph reported. A total of 1,751 families have been identified as affected and residents have demanded that the district administration pay Rs. 20 lakh to each family as ‘advance compensation’, reported The Telegraph.

The administration also agreed to provide Neog’s kin Rs. 10 lakh in compensation, a government / OIL job to his widow or next of kin and also agreed to bear the educational expenses of his five daughters.

Issues that the blowout brings to the fore

The Baghjan oil well blowout and the subsequent fire has brought many issues to the fore.

Safety during the pandemic – Two months on, most families are yet to receive compensation from OIL and the administration. However, what is more pressing is that almost 9,000 people are choking in relief camps, especially during the coronavirus pandemic which calls for social distancing.

People in the relief camps have been getting food, but complain of unhygienic conditions there. Speaking to the Logical Indian, an inmate said that there were no clean toilets and bathrooms and that people had been living and sleeping in the same set of clothes for days.

Threat to jobs and livelihood – Residents have been robbed of their jobs and livelihoods and since the fire has not been contained, there is no way to ascertain when people would be able to resume normal lives. Crops and water bodies have been affected and eco-tourism in the area too now stands impacted for a long time to come.

Environmental impact and questionable clearances – The blowout has had a severe impact on the ecology of the region. The Maguri Motapung Beel and Dibru-Saikhowa National Park are under threat due to their close proximity to the blowout site. However, what is most concerning is that even while the fire at the gas blowout site has not been contained, three more proposals by OIL for environmental clearance are up for consideration by the State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA). Down To Earth reported that these proposals for oil and gas exploration were submitted on May 4, June 8 and June 19 respectively. These proposals are likely to be passed as all on and offshore oil and gas exploration projects are being considered as B2, i.e. not requiring public hearing under EIA 2006.

In 2016, OIL extended its drilling and testing to seven new locations at the Dibru-Saikhowa National Park, bypassing the rule for public hearings to be undertaken for operations inside protected forests. It had instead asked the environment ministry to take into account the hearings that had taken place on July 8 and August 26, 2011, The Wire had reported.

This year, during the lockdown in April, it reported that OIL got environment clearances for USD 141 billion (INR 10.67 billion) for its proposal to have 16 wells and four production installations at Mechaki, on the other bank of the Brahmaputra. It is also seeking clearance for 179 wells and production installations with an investment of INR 35 billion in North Hapjan, Tinsukia and Dhola districts.

In June, the Assam Pollution Control Board had issued a closure notice to OIL asking it to stop its production and drilling operations at the Baghjan oilfield, alleging that it hadn’t taken prior consent to operate. However, the notice was subsequently withdrawn in pursuance of the affidavit submitted by OIL under some conditions. It was also attributed that Assam CM Sarbananda Sonowal had an “indirect role” in resolving the issue out of court. The official said that Sonowal referred to OIL as a “national institution” and the fact that he highlighted OIL’s importance for gas supplies “clearly conveyed he was not in favour of closure”.

Sabrang India had first flagged the crisis on June 10 in an article by Dr. Hiren Gohain, The Price of Profit, OIL’s misadventure threatens Tinsukhia’s reserve forests & wild life sanctuaries which highlighted the Government of India’s sinister ploy to use the lockdown for granting environmental clearances to OIL’s drilling in Assam which endangered human and natural life. The very next day, Sabrang India had also reported of Pradip Saikia, a retired scientist, telling TV Channel Asomiya Pratidin about how political executives ignored the red flags raised in the matter.

54 of 229 sitting Rajya Sabha MPs have criminal cases against them: ADR

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July 22, 2020

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The Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) and National Election Watch have put together an analysis of the criminal backgrounds and assets of 229 Rajya Sabha MPs. The report titled, ‘Analysis of Criminal Background, Financial, Education, Gender and other details of Sitting Rajya Sabha MPs 2020’ states that 54 (24%) of the Rajya Sabha MPs have declared criminal cases against themselves and 203 (89%) are crorepatis.

Criminal Background

Out of the 54 (24%) who have declared criminal cases against themselves, 28 (12%) have declared that they have been booked in serious criminal cases like murder, attempt to murder, kidnapping and rape. The MPs have also been booked under charges of criminal conspiracy, punishment for rioting, armed with deadly weapons, fabricating false evidence, criminal intimidation, mischief by fire or explosive substance, attempt to commit culpable homicide and charges related to intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace among others.

One Rajya Sabha MP namely Bhonsle Shrimant Chh. Udayanraje Pratapsingh maharaj (BJP) from Maharashtra has declared cases related to murder (IPC section 302). Also, as many as four Rajya Sabha MPs have declared cases to attempt to murder (IPC Section 307).

Out of the four Rajya Sabha MPs who have declared cases related to crimes against women, KC Venugopal from the Indian National Congress (INC) from Rajasthan has declared a case related to rape (IPC Section 376).

A party –wise analysis of Rajya Sabha MPs with criminal cases – 14(18%) out of 77 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 8 (20%) out of 40 Rajya Sabha MPs from INC, 2 (15%) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from AITC, 3(33%) out of 9 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJD, 3(50%) out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from YSRCP and 2(25%) out of 8 Rajya Sabha MPs from SP have declared criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

A party –wise analysis of Rajya Sabha MPs with serious criminal cases – 5(6%) out of 77 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 6 (15%) out of 40 Rajya Sabha MPs from INC, 1 (8%) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from AITC, 1(11%) out of 9 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJD, 3(50%) out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from YSRCP and 3(60%) out of 5 Rajya Sabha MPs from RJD have declared serious criminal cases against themselves in their affidavits.

A state-wise analysis shows that Delhi has the highest percentage of Rajya Sabha MPs with declared criminal cases at 67%. Bihar comes next at 53%, followed by Kerala and Maharashtra. West Bengal has the lowest percentage (13%) of Rajya Sabha MPs with declared criminal cases.

However, the highest number of MPs with declared criminal cases are from Uttar Pradesh (30), followed by Maharashtra (19), Tamil Nadu (18), West Bengal (16) and Bihar (15).

Details of current Rajya Sabha MPs who lost earlier elections to Lok Sabha and state assemblies but later elected to Rajya Sabha

Out of the 50 Rajya Sabha MPs who had lost earlier elections, 12 (24%) have declared criminal cases and 10 (20%) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.

Financial Background

Out of the 229 sitting Rajya Sabha MPs, 203 (89%) are crorepatis. Out of the 203, 86 (37%) have assets of Rs. 10 crores and above, 36 (16%) have assets worth Rs. 5 crores and above and 81 (35%) have assets worth Rs. 1 crore and above. Only 10% (22) MPs have assets ranging between Rs. 20 lakhs to 1 crore and only 2% (4) MPs have assets of less than Rs. 20 lakh. As many as 69 (90%) of 77 MPs, followed by the INC which has 37 (93%) of 40 MPs have declared assets valued more than Rs. 1 crore.

The average of assets per Rajya Sabha MP is Rs. 62.67 crores. The average assets owned by BJP MPs stand at Rs. 27.74 crores and INC MPs stand at Rs. 38.96 crores.

The top three Rajya Sabha MPs with high assets are Mahendra Prasad from JD (U) Bihar, Alla Ayodhya Rami Reddy from YSRCP Andhra Pradesh and Bachchan Jaya Amitabh from SP Uttar Pradesh with assets worth Rs. 4078 crore, Rs. 2577 crore and Rs. 1001 crore respectively.

The three MPs with the lowest assets – valued at less than Rs. 20 lakhs are Maharaja Sanajaoba Leishemba from BJP Manipur, Sanjay Singh AAP Delhi and Samir Oraon BJP Jharkhand with assets worth Rs. 5 lakhs, 6 lakhs and 18 lakhs respectively.

Uttar Pradesh (28) has the highest number of crorepati MPs, followed by Maharashtra (18) and Tamil Nadu (17).

Out of the 50 Rajya Sabha MPs who had lost earlier LS Elections but were elected to Rajya Sabha, 42 (84%) are crorepatis. Among major parties, 13 (100%) out of 13 Rajya Sabha MPs from INC, 9 (75%) out of 12 Rajya Sabha MPs from BJP, 3(100%) out of 3 Rajya Sabha MPs from SP and 4(67%) out of 6 Rajya Sabha MPs from AITC have declared assets valued more than Rs 1 crore. The average assets of these Rajya Sabha MPs is Rs. 77.40 crores.

The entire report by ADR may be read below.

BJP spent highest on publicity; travel of party leaders in 2019 LS elections, reports ADR

BJP gets lion’s share of donations in 2018 – 2019; a 70% increase in funding from ’17 – 18

Uttarakhand to confer ownership right to women working in husband’s fields

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July 22, 2020

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Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat while speaking at a public event on July 20, expressed his intention of giving land ownership rights to women along with their husbands. The state government is planning to amend the Zamindari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, to give effect to the same.

“Traditionally in the hilly areas, men and their wives are involved in the farming on their land. However, men are largely involved in just heavy labour intensive work like ploughing of the field and remaining about 90% farming related works are done by their wives only. Despite that they don’t have any ownership of that piece of land but their husbands,” Rawat told Hindustan Times.

He further said that since ownership does not lie with women, they are unable to take any loan for any farming related work, if they need to. He said that the status quo is unfair since women do maximum work on fields and yet, are deprived of ownership rights on those lands. This amendment will give them ownership rights on land they work while making them self-dependent and will contribute towards women empowerment.

As per Housing and Land Rights Network, In India around 87.3% of women are dependent on agriculture, and yet not more than 10.34 per cent own land, which is the most important household asset. According to the Agricultural Census 2010-11, of the total operational holdings in India, about 12.78 per cent were operated by women.

As per a research paper of Department of Policy Studies TERI School of Advanced Studies by Prakriti Sharma, titled ‘Evolving Role Of Women In The Context Of Male Out-Migration: A Study In A Hill District Of Uttarakhand’ the asset ownership status of women in Uttarakhand is dismal. The paper states that with agriculture as the primary activity of most households in the state, 60.25% households owned about 17,000 sq.ft. of land or less. 89% women did not have property rights over that land which restricted their control and ownership over land.

The details of the amendment are still not divulged hence, it is unclear as to what kind of ownership rights the state will confer upon a wife, related to spousal property but in any case, it is a move towards gender equality, and holds immense significance in women’s rights jurisprudence and legislation in the long run.

Women’s right to ownership of land in India

Property rights have predominantly been in favour of men leaving much less space for women to acquire or inherit property. Amendments to succession law and property law have created space for women to own land and inherit land, albeit in a limited sense. The Hindu Succession Act was the first law to provide a comprehensive and uniform system of inheritance among Hindus and to address gender inequalities in the area of inheritance. It gave women absolute right of ownership over land. It still lacks in not giving daughters the right to be coparcener or in simple terms having the right to a property by virtue of birth.

States like Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra and Karnataka already have amendments in place for inclusion of daughter as a coparcener by birth in her own right and enables the daughter to have equal share in such coparcenary property. In these states daughters also have the right to dispose of property thus inherited by them.

Women farmers in India

In 2011, the Women Farmers’ Entitlements Bill was introduced in Rajya Sabha, which is now lapsed. It sought to give certified women farmers “equal ownership and inheritance rights over her husband’s self acquired agricultural land, or his share of family property, or his share of land transferred by the Government under land reform or resettlement scheme”. Such ownership did not need to be proved by way of document but a woman would be deemed to have ownership in scuh land and the fact that she is the wife of a particular person is the conclusive proof to claim ownership.

This piece of legislation would have given considerable impetus to women empowerment and attainment of gender equality had it been passed by the Parliament.

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