Left opposes MPs' pay hike amid farmers' suicide

New Delhi, Aug 22: The CPI(M) and the CPI today ''strongly'' opposed in the Lok Sabha the introduction of a Bill which seeks to raise the salaries of MPs from Rs 12,000 to Rs 16,000 a month and double the pension to Rs 6,000 and the daily allowance to Rs 1,000.

The Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2006, which was subsequently introduced by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, was ''illegal, unreasonable and unethical,'' the two main Left parties contended, wondering what message the government was sending out to the farmers in distress and the people in general.

Arguing that it was not proper on the part of MPs to raise their own salaries at a time when farmers trapped in debt were committing suicide in various states, the two parties said the job of revising the pay and allowances of MPs should be entrusted to an ''independent committee'' without any representation from Parliament.

The stand of the CPI(M) and the CPI was articulated by Mr Varkala Radhakrishnan and Mr Ajay Chakraborty respectively.

Mr Dasmunsi, however, explained that the introduction of any Bill could be opposed only on the grounds of legislative competence.

Article 106 of the Constitution had clearly empowered Parliament to revise MPs' pay and allowances from time to time.

In the same way, state assemblies had the power to revise the pay and allowances of MLAs and this was being made use of in the Left- ruled states of West Bengal and Kerala, he said.

UNI