TALES OF TRAVESTY
DR. JITENDRA SINGH
As if over a lakh per month pay package and over a crore worth CDF Constituency Development Fund (CDF) was not enough to meet the unmet needs of Jammu and Kashmir MLAs and MLCs, the State cabinet headed by a “dynamic” chief minister has taken a dynamically generous decision to order as much as a 100% hike in the allowances received by them.
The decision could be hailed as a progressive step inspired by a pragmatic contention that if people of the state are poor, starving and reeling under LPG hike or Daal-Roti constraints, this does not mean that people’s representatives should also be poor and starving. Certainly, the Hon’ble Members of Legislature deserve much more in order to lead an honourable life. Wisely therefore, for example, while an ordinary mortal suffers the ordeal of unavailable train tickets and unaffordable air tickets, the State cabinet has hiked the legislators’ travelling allowance from Rs 50,000/- to Rs 1,00,000/- with an already existing provision of priority tickets. The daily allowance for an MLA or an MLC for attending the session of the House, has also been increased from Rs 500 to Rs 1,000 per member per day so that the Hon’ble members who choose to walk out of the House over any issue may make themselves comfortable in the House “Canteen” over a cup of tea or cool their tempers over a cold drink.
It has become almost of a joke. Every now and then, the members of State Legislature unilaterally though unanimously decide to bring in a legislation to bring about a sudden manifold hike in their salaries cum perks and get away with least regard for public propriety, state exchequer constraints or personal accountability. The height of shame is that on every other issue, members owing allegiance to different political parties hit out at each other with venomous bitterness but on the issue of salary or allowance hike, they instantly come together to pass the bill without any debate or discussion.
Meanwhile, there is a strong section of opinion arguing that our MLAs donot deserve a salary hike primarily for two reasons. First, any pay raise, like in any other sector, is linked to performance whereas the general track record of MLAs has been poor, to say the least. Second, as the former Lok Sabha Speaker Somnath Chatterjee had suggested, there ought to be an independent commission to look into the issue of MPs’ or MLAs’ salaries because it is absurd that, unlike any other salaried class anywhere in the world, our MPs and MLAs enjoy the prerogative to decide on their own the frequency and quantum of their pay hikes.
If such harakiri continues and the common man’s patience continues to be put constantly to test, the day is not far when it may become a common sight to find the Indian MPs and MLAs getting abused and hounded out by public fury. Umapathy cites poet Kaifi’s refrain ‘‘Agar Doobna Hi Hamaari Kismat Hai To Zaroor Doobenge, Magar Lekar Rahnuma Ko Saath….’’
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