The three-day deadlock in Parliament over pay hikes for MPs ended Saturday with finance minister Pranab Mukherjee finally conceding the demand of the two agitating Yadav leaders, RJD chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and Samajwadi Party supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav, for a substantial hike in salaries and perks. The proposal will go to the cabinet next week and the bill will be introduced in the Parliament before it adjourns sine-die.
On Friday, the Cabinet had approved a three-fold salary hike for the MPs. However, parliamentary proceedings got stalled as MPs agitated for a five-fold hike.
Statistics compiled by National Election Watch (NEW), a reputed body of 1,200 NGOs working for better governance, reveal that as many as 315 out of the 544 MPs of the Lok Sabha are crorepatis, and 43 out of the 54 newly elected Rajya Sabha MPs are also millionaires. More interestingly, the average assets declared of these 43 MPs is Rs25.24 crore. However, the Rajya Sabha has less number of crorepatis than the Lok Sabha. Out of the 183 Rajya Sabha MPs whose data is available, 98 are millionaires. And all the data are based only on disclosed assets, which are not necessarily the same as an MP’s total assets.
The majority of the MPs also run their own businesses, companies, colleges, and other institutions, raking in millions every year, or have farm land where they pay no taxes on income.
The NEW report provides a detailed account of assets of almost 700 out of 780 MPs belonging to both houses of parliament. According to its report, Maharashtra topped the list of millionaire MPs, with 38 out of the 48 in the Lok Sabha and 13 out of the 18 MPs in the Rajya Sabha being crorepatis.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a cabinet minister told DNA that he had suggested that MPs should be paid Rs8-10 lakhs a month for discharge of their parliamentary and constituency duties. But in tandem with this, the government should withdraw all freebies. They should not get houses; no free tickets, no free electricity or telephone calls or any other facility. In fact, for each MP, the ‘hidden cost’ to the exchequer is far higher than the salary. But considering the fragile majority in the Lok Sabha, the government decided to concede the demand and close the chapter as early as possible.
Also, political observers point out that MPs cannot be equated with a secretary to the government of India for the simple reason that no government servant can engage in private practice or provide consultancy or do business. “It is cheaper to give them Rs10 lakh a month and ask them to hire their own flats. The government should utilise the space vacated by them and fund the salary bill,” the minister told DNA. Except for a handful of MPs in both houses of Parliament, most have substantial assets and other sources of income.
