Karnataka: 24 Out of 32 Ministers Have Pending Criminal Cases

In Karnataka's new Cabinet, 24 of the 32 ministers have pending criminal cases against them, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms said.

Of the 32 ministers, 31 are crorepatis and have and have average assets of Rs 11.06 crore. At Rs 1,413.80 crore, Karnataka's deputy chief minister has declared the highest assets, the report also said.

The minister with the lowest assets is Timmapur Ramappa Balappa. He has declared assets worth Rs 58.56 lakh.

Of the 32 ministers, only one is a woman, namely Laxmi R Hebbalkar from the Belgavi constituency. She has declared assets with Rs 13 crore and liabilities worth Rs 5 crore, the report also said.

"18 ministers have declared their age to be between 41 and 60 years while 14 ministers have declared their age to be between 61 and 80 years," the report said.

The Karnataka Cabinet reached its full strength of 34 ministers after the swearing-in on Saturday. Siddaramaiah and D K Shivakumar were sworn-in as Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister last week.

In the May 10 elections, the Congress bagged 135 seats in the 224-member House. The BJP came second with 66 seats.