Centre avoids setting up permanent mechanism to review MPs’ salaries

The Government has given up on the idea to set up a permanent mechanism to periodically review salaries of Parliamentarians apprehending a similar demand being raised by other constitutional offices.

After the Supreme Court questioned the Centre whether it had plans to review salaries of Members of Parliament (MP) by setting up an independent mechanism, Attorney General KK Venugopal on Wednesday said the Centre has given up on the idea. The submission came in response to a PIL by NGO Lok Prahari that questioned perks and pension being doled out to MPs for their lifetime.

The bench of Justices J Chelameswar and Sanjay Kishan Kaul reserved orders on the PIL agreeing with the A-G that Parliamentarians cannot be equated with other Central Government employees who do not receive pension after 2004.

The petitioner even cited news reports that 82 per cent MPs are crorepatis and do not need pension to which the bench asked, "How many bureaucrats are crorepatis. Will that be a ground to withdraw their post-retirement benefits?"

Venugopal said that MPs have to "nurse their constituencies" and contest elections every five year and for this, they have to extensively travel in their respective constituencies.

The PIL argued that how lawmakers can determine increase of their salaries and other perks without any fixed structure.