MPs spurn a 300 per cent salary hike
20 Aug 2010
The cabinet today approved a more than 300 per cent increase in the salary of members of Parliament, from Rs16,000 to Rs50,000, but the MPs protested saying it was inadequate.
Agitated members, irrespective of party affiliations, rose in protest and went to the extent of stalling proceedings of the Lok Sabha.
The protests were triggered by leaders of the Samajwadi Party (SP), Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Janata Dal-United (JD-U) who sought a salary above Rs80,000 per month.
They said a minimum salary of Rs80,001 would place them above the rank of a government secretary. Shouting "hamara vetan waapas lo, waapas lo, waapas lo," the protesting MPs walked towards the podium of speaker Meira Kumar.
According to Lalu Prasad, a parliamentary panel had recommended Rs80,001 as the pay scale for MPs, but the government has ignored it.
The parliamentary panel on MPs' salary had suggested an increase in secretarial allowance from Rs14,000 to Rs44,000. There was however, no proposal to increase dearness allowance given to the MPs. The cabinet has also not accepted a proposal to increase the number of air journeys from 35 to 50 each year.
As of now, besides the basic [pay, an MP gets a daily allowance of Rs1,000 when Parliament is in session or when on assigned official duty. An MP is also entitled to a constituency allowance of Rs20,000 and an office expense allowance of Rs20,000 per month.
The current hike will cost the exchequer an additional Rs140 crore every year.