Bhubaneswar: Leader of Opposition (LoP) in Odisha Assembly Naveen Patnaik on Saturday announced his decision to forgo the recently hiked salary and allowances for his position in the state legislature.
In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi, the Biju Janata Dal (BJD) president expressed his deep gratitude to the people of Odisha for their love and support over more than 25 years.
“I have been blessed by the love, affection and support of the people of Odisha for the past more than 25 years. I am highly indebted to the people of Odisha and their love towards me and my late father Biju Patnaik,” he said.
Referring to his family’s earlier decision in 2015 to donate their ancestral property ‘Anand Bhawan’ in Cuttack for public use, the former Chief Minister said: “In the same spirit, I would like to forgo the salary and allowances hiked for Leader of Opposition which the Odisha Legislative Assembly has recently passed.”
He requested the CM to utilise the amount for the welfare of the poor people of the state.
The state Assembly recently approved a hefty hike in salaries and allowances for MLAs, ministers, and key positions, raising the monthly package to approximately Rs 3.62 lakh for the LoP post. This move by Naveen comes amid ongoing debate on the three-fold hike in the salaries and allowances of MLAs and Ministers.
