Defending his government’s move, Modi said the new Bill was necessary to plug glaring loopholes in the system.“Look at the situation, nowadays some people have stooped so low that they are trying to run the government from jail,” Modi added.Highlighting his government’s records, the Prime Minister said, “For the past 11 years, the country has been waging a determined battle against corruption. In this regard, we have taken a significant step forward by introducing an anti-corruption Bill in the Lok Sabha. Under existing laws, if a government employee is caught and incarcerated without securing bail within 50 hours, they are automatically suspended from their position.”“However, no such provisions exist for a chief minister, a prime minister, or a minister. This loophole has allowed some leaders to stoop so low that they attempt to govern from behind bars.”Of the 30 chief ministers in the country, 12 of them, or 40 percent, declared criminal cases against themselves, according to a new report by poll rights body ADR.Telangana CM Revanth Reddy has declared 89 cases against him, the highest, followed by Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin, who declared 47.Andhra Pradesh CM Chandrababu Naidu declared 19, Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah declared 13, and Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren declared five cases.Maharashtra and Himachal Pradesh chief ministers Devendra Fadnavis and Sukhvinder Singh declared four cases each, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan declared two, and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann declared one case.According to the report by the Association for Democratic Reforms, 10, or 33 per cent, of the chief ministers have declared serious criminal cases, including cases related to attempt to murder, kidnapping, bribery, and criminal intimidation against them.The ADR said it analysed the self-sworn affidavits of all 30 sitting chief ministers in state Assemblies and Union Territories.This data is from affidavits they filed prior to contesting their last elections.
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