The number of politicians who have either been jailed or chargesheeted is growing by the day. There are also many more featuring strongly at the centre of a scam or hounded by allegations.
Of course, most of them get away, but the taint always remains.
A look at the A to Z of "tainted" politicians of Independent India...
A for Amar Singh
This former Samajwadi Party man is a formidable networker and was indispensable to party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav once upon a time. His arrest in the cash-for-votes scandal is a big story waiting to erupt. If he keeps his mouth shut, then the SP and BJP are in trouble. If he names a few Congressmen, then the heat will shift to the Centre.
A is also for former Maharashtra Chief Minister AR Antulay and the cement scandal of the 1980s.
B for BSY
Former Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yedyurappa hung on to his chair with allegations flying all around for three long years. But his luck finally ran out when his government was named in a Lokayukta report.
B is also for another Karnataka CM going by the name of Bangarappa and former BJP President Bangaru Laxman, who had to resign following a TV sting operation showing him taking a bribe.
Image: Rajya Sabha (Member of Upper House of Parliament) Amar Singh leaves after being questioned by the Delhi Police Crime Branch in New Delhi on July 22, 2011.
