Vice Presidents can now retire to a pension

Under the terms of the Vice President’s Pension Bill, all future retiring Vice Presidents will get a modest pension of Rs 6,250 per month. However, it is the perks that prove to be the real bonanza. When out of office, Vice-Presidents will not find themselves lodged in humble dwellings they will be entitled to a fully furnished rent-free residence, duly maintained by the CPWD, on par with a Union Deputy Minister.

The Bill allows for free medical and hospitalisation facilities not just for the ex-Vice President, but for his or her spouse and children.

A telephone with as many free calls as are allowed to Members of Parliament is another freebie thrown in.And if the former Vice President, his wife or children care to travel anywhere in India, they are entitled to free executive class air travel and railway tickets for the highest class. All it took for the bill to be passed today were “ayes” from a mere 35-odd members who were present in the Lok Sabha. Maqbool Dar, Minister of state for Home, said the measure was long overdue and members appeared to agree. Indeed, some members, including Satyapal Jain and T C Gehlot, both emphasised that the mere Rs 6,250 monthly pension and the Rs 6,000 per annum allocated for office expenses was too meagre in current times.