New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party government has now come under fire for passing a bill in the Delhi Assembly to increase the salary of an MLA by 400 per cent. Both the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party have upped the ante against the AAP government and have questioned the hike.
Former Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit said, "It is right that salary should increase but 400 per cent hike is not acceptable. At when it comes to giving salary to sanitation workers, you neglect them."
Earlier in the day, youth Congress workers protested outside Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's residence over the move.
Backing Congress, BJP leader RP Singh said, "The AAP has not come to serve the people. They have come to steal from the people and make money."
Defending the move, AAP MLA Adarsh Shastri said, "The hike is valid as it is happening after long time and is not a annual hike. It is being brought to a level where it is the independent committee evaluation that this is the kind of salary MLA should get so that he is able to discharge his duties honurably and with honesty."
AAP spokesperson Ashutosh said, "To run their homes their salary should be increased, what is wrong in it? In Assam the salaries of MLAs is more than Delhi's MLAs. They need money to work honestly. They are not getting this for lavish lifestyle but to run their houses efficiently and without getting corrupt."
As per the new Bill, monthly pay package of the MLAs has been increased from Rs 88,000 a month to Rs 2.10 lakh. Apart from this, the MLAs annual travelling allowance has been increased from Rs 50,000 to Rs 3 lakh a year. They can also get allowance for foreign trips now.
The bill will be sent to the Home Ministry for the final approval.
Out of the 70 MLAs in the Delhi Assembly, 67 belong to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.
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