The unanimous proposal of a joint committee of Parliament to award MPs a five-fold salary hike,from Rs 16,000 to Rs 80,001,has seriously offended a section of the middle class. Some suggest cynically that there is nothing in a parliamentarians performance to justify this demand. Others snigger at politicians placing themselves in the same salary slab as the top ranks of the civil service. On Monday,the cabinet,in an attempt at political correctness in view of the general financial constraints,deferred its final decision. MPs,including many from the ruling party,called this hypocritical,since Central ministers had a few years earlier okayed a fat raise for themselves.
Despite the general scepticism,however,when one looks objectively at the figures,it is justifiable for our MPs to expect a substantial pay hike. The concept that MPs are performing some sort of social service,which should not be compensated by payment at par with the general job market for skilled labour,is a hangover from the freedom struggle,a time when those who entered politics were generally motivated purely by idealism. But now we all recognise that politics is not purely altruistic public service. And,as with any profession,if we wish to attract talent,we need adequate compensation.
One smart-alec suggestion which has cropped up is that if they want a pay hike,MPs should have to perforce sit through the day,rather than merely sign the register and pocket the daily allowance. A common grievance is that our legislators waste precious Parliament time in uproars and walk-outs and are usually absent during serious debates in the House. But today,the basic requirement for an MP is to be accessible to his constituents,helping resolve the myriad problems of the voters and working for the development of the constituency. Scoring debating points in Parliament has very little role in the decision-making process. Thanks to the anti-defection law,party positions on bills and other contentious issues are formulated outside Parliament and not on the floor of the House.
The joint parliamentary committee on MPs emoluments fixed an MPs wages at Rs 80,001,reasoning that they deserved at least one rupee more than a full secretary to the government of India,since they are the actual formulators of public policy,while bureaucrats are merely the implementers. Their work hours are longer than bureaucrats,they argue. If an MP hopes to get re-elected he has to make himself available to the people at all hours of the day and night,whether it be calling a police station for getting a man out of jail in the wee hours,or speaking to a school principal for a childs admission. The babus,on the other hand,shut shop by 5 pm and often enough are not available to the aam janata even during working hours. The government,however,fearing media criticism,has already rejected the comparison to a bureaucrats salary. In the note before the cabinet a three-fold wage hike of Rs 50,000 is suggested instead.
Some,including the CPM and L.K. Advani,have reservations about MPs deciding on their own pay structure and have argued that such matters should be best left to a pay commission. While the ethicality of our MPs legislating to give themselves a raise is a valid question,almost no one raised an eyebrow when the IAS worked out a particularly sweet deal for itself under the Sixth Pay Commission,without cutting numbers. Our burgeoning bureaucracy illustrates the classic case of the fence eating the crop. In comparison,the proposed hike in MPs salaries would be a flea bite for our national budget.
coomi.kapoor@expressindia.com
