'7 of 11 new Punjab ministers face criminal cases; 9 are crorepatis'

PTI

New Delhi, March 21

Seven of the 11 newly sworn-in ministers in Punjab have declared criminal cases against them, 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) had declared criminal cases against them. Four of them (36 per cent) have declared serious criminal cases against them.

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) had declared their educational qualification to be between Class 10 and 12 while the rest are graduate or above.

Six ministers (55 per cent) have declared their age to be between 31 and 50 while five (45 per cent) are aged between 51 and 60, the ADR said.

Ten AAP MLAs were sworn in as Punjab ministers on Saturday.

They are Harpal Singh Cheema, Harbhajan Singh, Vijay Singla, Lal Chand, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Laljit Singh Bhullar, Bram Shanker Jimpa, Harjot Singh Bains and Baljit Kaur. 

Earlier, Bhagwant Mann had taken oath at a programme at Khatkar Kalan, the ancestral village of freedom fighter Bhagat Singh.

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