25 per cent of legislators with kidnapping charges are from BJP: Association of Democratic Reforms

NEW DELHI: Around 25 per cent of the 64 legislators who have declared charges of kidnapping against themselves are from the BJP, an Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) report revealed on Monday.

ADR took into account various sections of the Indian Penal Code like 359, 360, 361, 362, 363, 364, 365, 366, 367, 368 and 369. All the sections relate to kidnappings. Of the 64 legislators who have declared kidnapping charges against themselves, 16 are from the BJP. The Congress and the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) have six such legislators each followed by the Sharad Pawar-led Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) with five and the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) with four. The Samajwadi Party and the Telugu Desam Party have two legislators have three legislators with declared charges of kidnapping against them. The Trinamool Congress and CPI(M) have two such legislators each and the JD(U), LJP and TRS have one legislator each with declared criminal charges.

With regard to the state-wise break up, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh top the list with nine legislators each with declared charges of kidnapping against them. They are closely followed by Maharashtra with eight and West Bengal with six legislators. Odisha and Tamil Nadu have four legislators each with kidnapping charges against them while Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat and Rajasthan have three legislators with kidnapping charges against them. Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab and Telangana have one legislator each with kidnapping charges against them.

Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala Punjab and Telangana have 1 legislator each with declared kidnapping charges.