271 Crorepatis But UP MLAs Still Want Salary Hike

Till then, legislators received 3,000 a month as salary, 15,000 as constituency allowance, 6,000 as medical allowance and 6,000 as secretarial allowance. Then, on March 7, 2013, political expediency prevailed on economic prudence as minister of parliamentary affairs Mohd Azam Khan announced that very soon there would be another hike.  Predictbly, the announcement was greeted by the thumping of desks, both from the treasury and opposition benches.

Legislators now get a basic pay of 8,000, a constituency allowance of 22,000 and 10,000 each as secretarial and medical allowance.  Other than this, they are entitled to free rail travel of 125,000 in a year and a monthly telephone bill of 6,000. Cabinet ministers, junior ministers and the speaker and the deputy speaker, obviously, get more benefits.

The BJP's Suresh Khanna, who has been raising the matter every now and then, finds nothing wrong in the demand. "Our post, rights and prestige are defined separately in the Constitution. Members of parliament are placed at 22 while legislators are placed at 22A in the warrant of precedence, while the chief secretary is placed at 24. When we are above him, we should also get more salary," he said matter-of-factly.

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