When Half Our Ministers Face Criminal Cases – Did We Learn Nothing from
the 2019 “Nightmare Year”?
In December 2017, I wrote a blog titled “2019: Nightmare Year?” where I
imagined a dystopian scenario:
> Special Courts rushing through 4.6 cases per day to try India’s 1,581 MPs
and MLAs facing criminal charges.
I foresaw a year of endless by-elections, disqualifications, and democracy
functioning 24×365 like an overworked machine.
Back then, the Supreme Court had directed the Centre to set up Special Courts to
try elected representatives with pending criminal cases. Optimists hoped that this
would “cleanse” politics by 2019. Instead, my blog warned that ;
Elections are the opium of the masses”
- and that the real winners would be advertising companies,helicopter rental firms,
and event managers – not the voters.
ADR Report 2025 – A Grim Déjà Vu
Fast forward to September 2025.
The latest Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) report shatters any
illusion of political cleansing:
-
Out of 643 ministers (Union + 27 states + 3 UTs), 302 (47%) have
declared criminal cases in their affidavits.
-
Among them, 174 face serious charges – including murder, kidnapping,
and crimes against women.
-
Party-wise breakdown:
-
BJP: 40% with cases, 26% with serious ones.
-
Congress: 74% with cases, 30% with serious ones.
-
TDP: 96% with cases, 57% with serious ones.
-
AAP: 69% with cases, 31% with serious ones.
-
DMK: 87% with cases, 45% with serious ones.
-
And here’s the kicker: these very ministers declared combined assets worth
₹23,929 crore, averaging ₹37 crore per minister. In some states, “crorepati” and
“accused” are practically interchangeable.
Parliament’s Half-Step
Days before this ADR report, Parliament tabled bills proposing automatic removal
of a minister, CM, or PM if charged with a serious crime and incarcerated for 30
days. Yet, the bills are now with a Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC), where
they may languish, diluted, or buried.
The contradiction is stark:
-
On paper – bills to cleanse politics.
-
In reality – almost half our ruling class openly walks in with criminal
baggage, and voters shrug.
The Nightmare Didn’t End in 2019
My “Nightmare Year” was supposed to be a temporary disruption caused by
Special Courts.
But in 2025, it seems the nightmare has become a permanent political reality.
When nearly every third minister accused of murder or assault still retains
power, we must ask:
-
Are Special Courts only for headlines?
-
Does the system need tainted ministers to survive?
-
Or, worse, have voters accepted that criminality is no disqualification?
Conclusion
George Orwell imagined 1984 as the nightmare of citizens under state
surveillance.
India’s 2019–2025 story is the nightmare of citizens under criminally tainted
rulers.
If “Elections are the opium of the masses,” then perhaps Criminalization is the
steroid of the political class.
And until this vicious cycle is broken, we may keep moving from one “Nightmare
Year” to another.
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With Regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.HemenParekh.ai / www.IndiaAGI.ai / www.My-Teacher.in / 05 Sept 2025
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