RTI query reveals anomaly in salary deduction of BJP MLAs

Daily Pioneer: Dehradun: Sunday, 02 August 2020.

An RTI query has revealed glaring anomalies in deduction of salary of BJP MLAs for Covid-19 fund. The deduction in salary of MLAs is being done in accordance with decision taken by State cabinet in month of April to deduct 30 per cent of basic salary and allowances (constituency allowance and secretary allowance).

An RTI query by Congress MLA from Kedarnath, Manoj Rawat showed that while a sum of Rs 57,600 is being deducted from salary of all 11 MLAs of Congress party, only 13 MLAs of BJP out of 58 (57 elected, one nominated member of Anglo-Indian community) are having deduction of Rs 57,600 from their salaries.

Rawat told The Pioneer that 16 MLAs of BJP are having a deduction of Rs 30,000 per month while four MLAs of ruling party are having a deduction of Rs 12,600 per month.

Apart from them there are 13 BJP MLAs who are having a deduction of Rs 9,000 per month. Launching an attack on BJP for not following the order of its own Government, Rawat said that BJP’s senior leader and chief spokesperson Munna Singh Chauhan who had held a press conference in which he accused Congress MLAs of not showing interest in contributing for Covid-19 fund is having a deduction of only Rs 30,000 per month as compared to Rs 57,600 of  Congress MLAs.

The Congress MLA said that Vidhan Sabha secretariat didn’t reveal deduction being made from salary of Chief Minister and council of ministers but a sum of Rs 75,000 per month is being deducted from salary of Leader of Opposition (LoP) Indira Hridayesh who happens to be equivalent to rank of a cabinet minister.

He further added that instead of taking a unilateral decision on salary cut State Government should have held consultation with members of state assembly.

 “A message should have gone out that all MLAs of Uttarakhand are united in dealing with pandemic perpetrated by the Covid-19 but BJP Government of Uttarakhand behaves in an autocratic manner. The Government should refrain from doing politics on disaster but what can be said about government which has failed to get order of its cabinet followed by its own MLAs,’’ he said.