Modi’s expanded cabinet 2.0 has 42% of ministers have criminal charges and 90% are crorepatis, according to an ADR report.

After the mega shuffle of the Union cabinet, according to the ADR report, the 2.0 cabinet has around 42% of the ministers with criminal charges against them, and 90% of them have huge bank balances in their name. As many as 12 ministers resigned ahead of the mega reshuffle of the Modi cabinet, 36 individuals were inducted into the list. This was the first expansion or reshuffling done by the Modi government after it took oath for the second term in the office.

This is said to be the youngest cabinet formed in the country with the average age of the Cabinet standing at 56 years. The minimum age among the 36 leaders is 35 years and the maximum is 69 years. The overall average age of the Cabinet has come down from 61 years to 58 years. A total of 20 members, including 6 Cabinet ministers and 14 ministers of state, are below 50 years of age.

The key reasons for the mega expansion are first, the criticism the central government had to face over the mismanagement of covid in the country, and second, the upcoming seven state assembly elections. The expansion saw more representatives from Uttar Pradesh and also the representation of OBCs, SCs, and youth has gone up.

The ADR report, however, suggests that 42% which sums up to 33 ministers have criminal cases against them. Of which 24 are ministers with “serious criminal cases”, breaking it down further, four ministers have declared cases related to an attempt to murder. Following this, the report also analyzed that 90% of the ministers are crorepatis. The average asset per Minister is Rs.16.24 crores, with four individuals having declared more than Rs.50 crores worth of assets, the report adds.