Bhubaneswar: The ruling BJP and Congress on Sunday levelled Leader of the Opposition and former Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik’s announcement to forgo his salary and allowances as ‘political drama and doublespeak’.
Speaking to the media, Deputy CM K V Singh Deo said that the LoP had a chance to speak on the bill in the Assembly. “Why did he not turn up during the debate and stated his opinion on it?” he asked.
He added: “This is nothing but politics being played.”
The Odisha Assembly on December 9 passed a Bill to triple the monthly salary of the Chief Minister, Ministers, and MLAs, and implement a threefold hike in pension of legislators with retrospective effect from June 2024, making the state’s pay and pension structure for elected representatives among the highest in the country.
Also Read: Odisha MLAs Become Highest-Paid Lawmakers After Nearly 3-Fold Salary Hike
Similarly, BJP MLA Jayanarayan Mishra took a jibe at Naveen, saying that he does not need a salary since he is a ‘rich man’. “His father (Biju Patnaik) also used to take Rupee 1 as salary and allowance from the state Assembly, when he was the chief minister of Odisha for the second time from 1990 to 1995. They belong to a well-to-do family and can afford not taking any salary. He should have implemented it for the entire party. But he allowed his legislators to seek a salary hike and they accordingly put pressure on the government for the same,” he noted.
Defending the salary hike, Congress MLA Pabitra Saunta said that the BJD fully supported the bill to raise the salary and perks of members including Speaker, chief minister, deputy CMs, ministers and MLAs and it was unanimously passed in the Assembly. “While Naveen refused to accept the hiked amount, the leaders of his party are happy with it. There seems to be some miscommunication within the BJD,” he claimed.
Amid public outrage over a steep hike in legislators’ salaries, the BJD president on Saturday offered to forgo the enhanced salary and allowances approved for the Leader of Opposition. “I would like to request you to utilise the same for the welfare of poor people of our state,” Naveen said in a letter to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, while drawing parallels with his family’s decision in 2015 to donate their ancestral property ‘Anand Bhawan’ in Cuttack for public use.
Also Read: The Lone Odisha MLA To Oppose Threefold Jump In Their Salary & Allowances
Interestingly, the push for salary revision, citing rising cost of living, came from across party lines in March this year, days after the Centre approved a salary hike for MPs. Opposition whip Pramila Mallik raised the issue during zero hour in the Assembly, calling for a 2.5-times hike due to soaring medical costs and inflation. She further mentioned the remuneration of Odisha MLAs was among the lowest in the country, which was echoed by Congress and BJP members, who also expressed concerns over the financial burden of meeting constituency demands.
The members also reminded CM Majhi that he had himself supported the salary hike in July 2022 as opposition whip, arguing that no revisions since 2017 had left legislators struggling with escalating living costs.
