Delhi Cabinet: Five ministers, including CM Rekha Gupta, face criminal cases, says ADR report
The report highlighted that five ministers, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, have declared criminal cases against themselves. Among them, one minister, Ashish Sood, faces serious criminal charges.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Rekha Gupta took charge as the ninth Chief Minister of Delhi at her Secretariat office here on Thursday, asserting every commitment of the BJP will be fulfilled by her government. Earlier in the day, the first-time MLA from Shalimar Bagh was administered oath as the chief minister by Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena in a grand ceremony at the Ramlila Maidan. Her Council of Ministers were also sworn in. Along with Gupta, Parvesh Verma, Ashish Sood, Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Kapil Mishra, Ravinder Indraj Singh, Kapil Mishra and Pankaj Singh were also administered the oath of office by Lt Governor VK Saxena.
What does the ADR report reveal?
Meanwhile, in a striking revelation, a report by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) has found that five out of seven newly sworn-in ministers in Delhi, including Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, have declared criminal cases against themselves. The findings are based on self-sworn affidavits submitted ahead of the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. According to the ADR report, 71% of the ministers in the new cabinet have criminal cases, while 29% -- two ministers -- are billionaires. Among them, one minister, Ashish Sood, faces serious criminal charges.
On the financial front, two ministers, accounting for 29 per cent of the cabinet, are billionaires. The minister with the highest declared total assets is Manjinder Singh Sirsa from Rajouri Garden constituency with assets worth Rs 248.85 crores and the minister with the lowest declared total assets is Kapil Mishra from Karawal Nagar constituency with assets worth Rs 1.06 crores.
Assets of Delhi ministers
The average assets of the seven ministers analysed stand at Rs 56.03 crores. All seven ministers have declared liabilities, with Parvesh Sahib Singh of the New Delhi constituency having the highest liabilities at Rs 74.36 crores. Six ministers (86 per cent) have declared educational qualifications of graduate level or above, while one minister has completed only the 12th standard.
In terms of age, five ministers (71 per cent) are between 41 and 50 years old, while the remaining two (29 per cent) are aged between 51 and 60 years. The cabinet includes only one woman minister which is the chief minister herself.
(With PTI inputs)
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