Lok Sabha, on September 15, passed a bill to cut the salaries of the Members of Parliament by 30 per cent, for one year, to help tide over the “exigencies” resulting from the ongoing pandemic. The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 will replace the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020.
The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 was introduced in the Lower House on September 14.
The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020, had been given clearance by the Cabinet on April 6 and announced formally on April 7.
Since funds are always welcome, especially in emergency situations like these, it was rightly felt that the first step should be taken by the ministers, in terms of charity, to help fight the pandemic battle.
This deduction will affect the sumptuary allowance of ministers. While this allowance for the prime minister will be reduced to just over Rs 2000 a month, for Cabinet ministers it will be reduced to Rs 1,400 a month.
Similarly, ministers of state or junior ministers will now receive Rs 700 instead of Rs 1,000 a month as sumptuary allowance.
For a period of two years, the Members of Parliament Local Aread Development Scheme (MPLADS) funds remain suspended temporarily. These funds are used by the MPs on projects to develop their constituencies. Therefore, most of them are in favour of having these funds restored.
