MPs Demand for 100 Percent Pay hike

MPs Demand for 100 Percent Pay hike – A joint committee on salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament (MPs) under BJP MP Yogi Aditya Nath has recommended doubling of MPs salaries and perks. Ahead of the implementation of the 7th Pay Commission, members of Parliament (MPs) have recommended a hike of 100% for themselves, saying they deserve it for their ‘good conduct’. A joint committee on salaries and allowances of Members of Parliament (MPs) under BJP MP Yogi Aditya Nath has recommended doubling of MPs salaries and perks. According to an NDTV report, a parliamentary committee has suggested that the salary of MPs be raised from Rs 50,000 to a lakh a month and the constituency allowance be raised from Rs 45,000 to Rs 90,000. If the committee’s proposal is accepted, the total compensation package for an MP will go up from Rs 1,40,000 to 2,80,000. Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agarwal had raised the issue of salary hike and said that MPs deserve pay hike for ‘good conduct’ and that many lawmakers were afraid to speak up on the issue. If free air and rail travel, free housing and other amenities are considered, each MP will cost the taxpayer more than Rs 4 lakh per month, reported Free Press Journal, quoting statistics maintained by the PRS Legislative Research. The package also includes increasing money for office expenses from Rs 15,000 to Rs 30,000 per month and secretariat assistance from Rs 30,000 to Rs 60,000 per month. Once agreed and cleared by the finance ministry, the increase in MPs emoluments can put an additional burden of Rs 250 crore on the exchequer. Last year’s allocation had cost the exchequer Rs. 295.25 crore for Lok Sabha Members and Rs 121.96 crore for Rajya Sabha members. Incidentally, there is no pay commission to look into MP’s salaries and they themselves are entitled to increase their salaries and perks. This huge increase looks “obscene” to some Left parties MPs, especially in a country where a person spending over Rs 32 a day in rural areas and Rs 47 in urban areas is not considered poor according to the RBI expert panel. Source: DNA