As the Union Cabinet rejected last week the Speaker’s suggestion — which was approved by a meeting of the leaders of all parties — to create a Salary Commission for the MPs, Chatterjee is likely to make a statement on the floor of the Lok Sabha on or after April 15. It is Parliament’s Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances which makes recommendations on the increase in the pay packet of the MPs on the basis of which the government moves a motion in the two Houses. India is the only democracy where MPs decide their own salary.
Chatterjee, who was in the forefront of opposing this as a member for the couple of decades, took up the issue after he became Speaker and convened a meeting on March 23, 2005 of the leaders of parties. This meeting approved the setting up of a commission to look into salary, pension, allowances and other benefits. Such a commission, having five-year term, could consist of the RBI Governor, the Planning Commission deputy chairman and the cabinet secretary among others. Some leaders, however, opposed any bureaucrat on the panel.
But as the government failed to carry forward the leaders’ decision, it was time for another proposal for salary hike from the joint committee. Before the cabinet took up the issue to hike the salary in 2006, the Speaker wrote to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on May 27, 2006 that he has not been informed of the decision of the government on the recommendation of the 2005 meeting. What shocked the Speaker was the cabinet decision of April 3 to leave the issue of the setting up of the panel to the next Lok Sabha.
A furious Chatterjee shot back saying: “Would no law be passed in the one year left of the term of the present Lok Sabha ?”
The first bill to hike the MPs’ salary was passed in 1954 which fixed it at Rs 400 per month and daily allowance at Rs 21. After the last hike, an MP’s salary stands of Rs 12,000 and daily allowance at Rs 500. Besides, they also get constituency allowance, free telephone/mobile calls, postage allowance, travel allowance, free air travel, pension etc.
