Vibha Sharma has written in 'The Tribune' about a three fold hike in salaries for MPs which got the nod recently. The data given by Anil Bairwal of NEW (National Election Watch) calls for some serious introspection. Well. The data can be subjected to examination but the average Indian may not dispute it in any manner. He would rather prefer to describe it as a gross understatement!
Let's see what the figures say:
There are around 315 crorepatis (owning wealth or earning income worth a crore of rupees) while the average asset for an M.P in the country is around Rs.4.5 crores.
What is interesting and almost ridiculous is the argument put forth for the pay hike-this is for survival of the Members and would also attract more and more people into Politics!
There are 162 Members in the Lok Sabha with criminal charges and 76 have serious criminal charges, the analysis says. The present Lok Sabha (15th) has increased this parameter-the 14th had 128 and 58 for the same measurement!
Perhaps this increase could have been a better premise for the hike-growth commensurate with growth!
The issue is that these are not employees. They reach the place through the party politics and parliamentary democracy where people go to the polls. The activities of funding a party and the way the electoral exercise is met by these parties does not have the real transparency. Conversely, those with criminal background should be debarred and those without it should get the hike.