MPs to receive hefty pay hike

NEW DELHI: It’s good news for MPs: Their pay package is set to become heftier. The Union cabinet meeting on Friday is scheduled to clear the parliamentary committee recommendations for hiking salaries and perks of members of Parliament.

There are also indications that the government may include the Bill for OBC reservation in higher education in the cabinet meeting. HRD minister Arjun Singh is likely to meet the prime minister to give final touches to the bill, in line with the recommendations of the oversight committee headed by Veerappa Moily.

On the MPs salary front, though the parliamentary committee has recommended almost doubling their salaries and perks, the cabinet is unlikely to agree to this, but will still keep the MP’s pay package at more than handsome levels.

MPs belonging to most parties have been demanding a hike in their pay package, saying that their salaries “have not been revised” for quite some time, and that what they earn is much less compared to their counterparts in many other countries.

The practice of the MPs themselves deciding on their own pay hike has prompted criticism from many observers, causing embarrassment for a section of the MPs. This had recently led the Lok Sabha speaker to suggest the option of constituting an independent pay commission for the MPs.

However, the government rejected the proposal after it found no backing from major political parties at an all-party meeting. On the issue of OBC quota, the indications so far are that the government may opt for a phased implementation.

The prime minister and the UPA chairperson have been holding consultations with various constituents of the UPA to hammer out a consensus on the modalities of the quota implementation.

Even though the Tamil Nadu parties have demanded that the quota be implemented in one go, the government and the Congress got important support from the RJD leader, Lalu Prasad Yadav who said it should be implemented in a phased-manner.