Seven of the 11 newly sworn-in ministers in Punjab have declared criminal cases against themselves, with four of them facing serious charges, poll rights group Association for Democratic Reforms said on Monday. The 11 ministers include Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
Punjab Election Watch and the Association for Democratic Reforms analysed the affidavits of all 11 ministers, including the CM. The ADR said seven ministers (64 per cent) have declared criminal cases against themselves. Four of them (36 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against themselves.
Of the 11 ministers, nine are crorepatis and the average of their assets is Rs 2.87 crore. The minister with the highest declared total assets is Bram Shanker (Jimpa) from Hoshiarpur. He has assets worth Rs. 8.56 crore. Lal Chand from Bhoa (Sc) constituency has the lowest declared total assets worth Rs 6.19 lakh.
Nine ministers have declared liabilities. The minister with the highest liabilities is Bram Shanker, He has liabilities worth Rs 1.08 crore.
The ADR said five ministers (45 per cent) have declared their educational qualification to be between Class 10 and 12 while the rest are graduates or above. Six ministers (55 per cent) have declared their age to be between 31 and 50 years while five (45 per cent) are aged 51 and 60, the ADR said.
Ten AAP MLAs were sworn in as Punjab ministers on Saturday. They are Harpal Singh Cheema, Harbhajan Singh, Dr Vijay Singla, Lal Chand, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Bram Shanker Jimpa, Harjot Singh Bains and Dr Baljit Kaur. Earlier, Bhagwant Mann had taken oath at a programme in Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.
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