Crime tainted MPs have little to do with high-level corruption
To be sure, mere presence of members who may turn out to be criminals once the judiciary rules on cases pending against them is a blot.
If you think the presence in Parliament of a sizable number of members with pending criminal charges against them has something to do with the recent high-profile corruptions scandals, think again. None of the members recently charged with bribery and corruption - A Raja, Suresh Kalmadi and Kanimozhi - had a single pre-existing criminal charge against them. Nor do some well-known perpetrators of corruption in the Cabinet have such charges pending against them.
Several candidates facing serious criminal charges, including Mohammad Shahabuddin, currently serving a life sentence for kidnapping with intent to murder and awaiting trial for eight murders and 20 attempted murders, have managed to enter Parliament. But unlike at the level of the state, such members have rarely headed the ministries at the Centre. Thus, other than a minister of state, no minister belonging to the current Lok Sabha has pending criminal charges that the Association for Democratic Reform (ADR) classifies as 'serious' (see below).