Salary hike bill scandalous: Brinda Karat

NEW DELHI: Highly critical of Members of Parliament deciding their own remuneration, CPI-M leader Brinda Karat today said the salary hike bill was "scandalous".

"At no other place in the country, you have beneficiaries deciding on the increase of their own salary," Karat said on the sidelines of a conference here.

The Union Cabinet agreed to further raise the monthly allowances of the MPs by Rs 10,000 after a hefty raise in allowances left some lawmakers dissatisfied.

"It is scandalous and I want to make sure that I vote against the proposed hike," she said.

The cabinet had given its nod to the bill under which the basic salary of the MPs will be hiked from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000 per month.

With some lawmakers not happy with the decision, the Lok Sabha witnessed an uproar last week by RJD, SP and JD-U members over the issue.

They were demanding the wages be raised to at least Rs 80,001, a rupee more than the salary of the Cabinet Secretary.

Following the uproar, the Cabinet agreed for a further raise in monthly allowances by Rs 10,000.