Congress leader Rahul Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha on Friday (March 24), a day after being sentenced to two years in jail in a defamation case over his ‘Modi surname’ remark in 2019. The notification came hours after Gandhi came to the Lok Sabha on Friday morning. The disqualification notification drew condemnation from Congress leaders Mallikarjun Kharge, Shashi Tharoor, Jairam Ramesh and K C Venugopal and several other Opposition leaders, including TMC supremo and West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray and AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Losing amenities as an MP Losing his membership of the Lok Sabha comes alongside the loss of the many amenities that MPs receive. Members of Parliament are entitled to certain perks and benefits with “a view to enable them to function effectively”. These are governed by the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 and the rules made thereunder. The latest amendment to the Act was made on May 11, 2022. Some of these perks and benefits are as follows. Salary and allowance for ‘residence on duty’ An MP is entitled to a salary of Rs 1 lakh a month and an allowance of Rs 2,000 per day during any period of residence on duty. ‘Period of residence on duty’ means the period during which a member resides at a place where a session of a House of Parliament or a sitting of a Committee is held or where any other business connected with his duties as such member is transacted, for the purpose of attending such session or sitting or for the purpose of attending to such other business. The salary and daily allowance of MPs are increased every five years, on the basis of the Cost Inflation Index. Travelling allowance and free rail transit MPs also get a travel allowance to facilitate any journeys they undertake in connection with their duties as a member of Parliament. They get paid the airfare for any journey they may undertake to fulfil their duties. If they travel by road, they get paid a mileage fee of Rs 16 per kilometre. While previously, MPs were also paid rail fare if they chose to travel by rail, now they are given a free, non-transferable pass which entitles them to travel at any time by any train in air-conditioned first class or executive class of any train. This pass is valid for the term of the MP’s office. If they have not received a rail pass for any reason, MPs are still entitled to free travel by rail, with their fare being reimbursed. There are also provisions to allow MPs free transit by steamer. This is relevant for MPs of coastal, island or riverine districts. Constituency allowance A member shall be entitled to receive the constituency allowance of Rs 75,000 per month. Office expenses allowance A total of Rs 60,000 is allotted to an MP per month to take care of their office expenses. Of this, Rs 20,000 is for stationery items and postage, with the Lok Sabha Secretariat paying Rs 40,000 per month to any staffer engaged for obtaining secretarial assistance. Housing and other related allowances Each Member shall be entitled, without payment, to housing accommodation in the form of a flat throughout his term of office. If they are allotted a bungalow, they have to pay a normal license fee. They are also entitled to free electricity (upto 50,000 units per annum) and free water (upto 4,000 kilo litres per annum). MPs are also to certain furniture and there are provisions for additional services (such as staff attached to an MP’s residence) and periodic maintenance as well. Telephone charges MPs are entitled to free-of-cost installation and operation of telephones at their Delhi residence and office, as well as their residence and office in the state which they represent. They have to make no payment for the first 50,000 local calls made from the telephone during any year. Furthermore, MPs are entitled to avail of one mobile phone connection of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) with a national roaming facility and another mobile phone connection of MTNL or Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL) with a national roaming facility for utilisation in his constituency and no charges shall be payable by him in respect of the registration and rental of such mobile phone connections. Medical services After a monthly payment of Rs 500 (which is deducted from a member’s salary), MPs are entitled to free medical care for themselves and their family.
