NEW DELHI: The Upper House of Parliament Friday unanimously passed the bills to reduce the salaries of the MPs and Ministers by 30%. This move has come amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis which has prompted the government to take austerity measures. The pandemic has also inadvertently caused a severe economic downtown, with several lakh jobs lost during the lockdown.
Earlier in the day, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Pralhad Joshi had moved the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Salary, Allowances, and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha.
Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State (MoS), Home Affairs, said that he was moving the Bill on behalf of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Shah had recently tested positive for the coronavirus and after recovering from the virus, he admitted to the AIIMS in New Delhi for post-COVID therapy. The Minister was finally discharged from the hospital on September 17.
Although MPs from rival parties such as the Congress, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), and others wholeheartedly supported the bill, they asked the Centre to restore the MPLADS Funds at the earliest.
The opposition party MPs pointed out that the MPLADS Funds that are used by them to help the public in their constituencies can be of significant help during the ongoing crisis period.
It is to be mentioned here that the AIADMK MP A Vijayakumar and BJD MP Prasanna Acharya had earlier also demanded that the government release their arrears of the MPLADS funds for previous years.
The Monsoon session of the Parliament which began on Monday is slated to conclude on October 1. The ongoing session is being held with strict COVID-19 protocols -- such as wearing of masks and social distancing -- in place.