New Delhi, Aug. 21: Members of Parliament, who have virtually united cutting across party lines on increases in their salaries and perks, want their remuneration to be free of income-tax. Their views were articulated by Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mr Mulayam Singh Yadav at a meeting called by the finance minister, Mr Pranab Mukherjee, on Saturday.
The Yadavs have been pressing for a hike in the salaries of MPs to Rs 80,001 and are not satisfied with the Rs 50,000 approved by the Union Cabinet on Friday.
According to sources, when Mr Mukherjee and others in the meeting did not respond to the suggestion from RJD chief, Mr Lalu Yadav, and the SP president, Mr Mulayam Singh that MPs’ salaries be kept out of the ambit of income-tax, they pressed for a further increase in allowances by Rs 10,000.
Besides these leaders, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Mr Arun Jaitley, deputy leader of the BJP in the Lok Sabha, Mr Gopinath Munde, JD(U) president, Mr Sharad Yadav, were also present at the meeting.
The government has not yet made up its mind on these suggestions but official sources said on Saturday evening, “We have to give full consideration to their (Opposition leaders’) demands.” They indicated that the government is “open” to increasing the office expenses allowance by Rs 5,000 and by an equal amount the constituency allowance from what the Cabinet had decided on Friday. “But any new change in the salary and allowances of MPs will be placed before the Cabinet and only after that will a bill be placed in Parliament, expectedly on August 27,” they said.
The current session of Parliament would be extended to August 31.
The Civil Liability for Nuclear Damage Bill, 2010, will be taken up in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday, the day Parliament resumes after a three-day recess next week. In a related development, Mr Sharad Yadav said the government should constitute an independent mechanism to periodically review the salary of MPs.