India's recent national election delivered a historic victory to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Hindu nationalist party, but also exposed the influence of money, power and questionable morality on the world's largest democracy.
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Nearly 43 per cent of the new members of the lower house of Parliament that convenes on Monday for the first time since the election, won despite facing criminal charges.
According to a report by the civic group Association of Democratic Reforms, more than a quarter of those relate to rape, murder or attempted murder.
The loophole that allows them to take office is they have not been convicted - in part because the Indian legal system has a huge backlog of an estimated 30 million cases.
When asked about the charges against them, they usually say rivals framed them.
Australian Associated Press