Mahadeep Singh Jamwal
Representative democracy is a governmental structure based upon citizens electing representatives to serve on their behalf. What to our bad luck it is experienced that once these representatives are out of requirement of common people, they behave as had landed from other planet and their all activities whether on the floor of house or in the public domain becomes self centric. It is all time experienced when the Parliament/Assembly is in session our elected representatives just tune in wasting all important time and resources by fighting and abusing with preset agenda. The politicians from both the benches remain busy settling personal scores and behave like troublemaker blaming and shouting on each other. While the common man and voters viewing it, feel ashamed of their mistakes of voting such hooligans as their representatives. When a common man faces cut on salary and perks and job loss for not working, such MPs/MLAs continue to enjoy perks/benefits despite the fact Parliament/Assemblies hardly functions, what a funny joke?
While analysing the happenings in the Indian Parliament presently under way, the pay and perks our parliamentarians, getting from the wallet of tax payers hammered my mind. Feeling less informative, the scrolling on the Google brought forth a publication of ‘The Times of India’ Mumbai dated 22nd August, 2010 and I preferred to put it into public domain as the news paper is the companion at the morning tea time, and it will aware about the luxuries of our representatives sent to parliament for our uplift from the index of ‘Below Poverty Line’. Calculations conducted to compare pay packet of our MPs, with a reality check with countries around the world, in comparison with legislators from the developed world, Indian MPs appear to be poorly paid when compared with basic salaries, but this is misleading. It’s widely known that basic salary is only a small part of the overall compensation that an MP gets. The comparison transpired that Indian MPs cost the country more than their counterparts in Singapore, Japan and Italy – nations globally known for their highly paid politicians. Our MP cost the country 104 times more than what an average Indian earns annually. That makes the disparity in India between citizen’s average income and an MP’s cost to country, among the highest in the world.
After elected to Lok Sabha, the members become entitled to salaries, allowances, travelling facilities, medical facilities, accommodation, telephones, etc. These amenities are provided to members with a view to enable them to function effectively as Members of Parliament. These are governed by the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 and the rules/amendment of it. On 27th August, 2010, Indian Members of Parliament voted themselves a threefold hike in their basic salary, doubled the constituency and office expense allowances. As usual this hike irked number of people and they remarked that these politicians will never be satisfied with their income for ‘Desh Seva’. Ordinary citizens are being charged to pay taxes on their meager income. What a fallacy!
The most disturbing part is that when someone joins a government/PSU jobs, there is a specified qualification for the specified post he applies for, but to enter into politics there is no such qualification specified. The persons with criminal records and who have ‘Gundasim’ background easily enters into politics. Once he/she becomes minister, stick to the chair till last breath. In the past we have seen some of the PM/CMs took their last breath during their term when in the chair. Some hard facts posted on my Whats App group “We for You” inspired me to make them public for public debate in street and corners for larger space;
o Parliamentarians collect a salary while in office but should not receive any pay when they’re out of office. When we monitor the work in the government offices or even in private sector, a review performance is undertaken, less performing officials are warned and sometimes salaries are with held and penalized also by slapping ‘no work no pay’. Same provisions are required to be slapped on parliamentarians by constitutional amendment.
o The daily allowances this fraternity is getting during the period Parliament in session, in no way justified, as it is there basic duty to discuss and make laws n the Parliament. But they even getting it for spoiling the session with zero contribution and making the mockery of the Parliament like winter frogs.
(To be continuede)
