Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi Palaniswami on Wednesday announced a near-100% increase in the salary of state lawmakers. This takes their monthly pay from Rs 55,000 to Rs 1.05 lakh, CNN-News18 reported.
The pension for Tamil Nadu MLAs has also been raised from Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000. Funds to develop their respective constituencies has been increased from Rs 2 crore to Rs 2.6 crore.
The news comes amid protests by Tamil Nadu farmers, who have been demanding a drought relief package of Rs 40,000 crore, a farm loan waiver and a central government-run Cauvery Management Board. On Tuesday, the farmers held a protest at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar.
In April, the Madras High Court had directed the state government to waive all farm loans in Tamil Nadu, but the order was stayed by the Supreme Court on July 3.
In the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, Samajwadi Party MP Naresh Agarwal called for a raise in the salary of MPs. He claimed that parliamentarians were paid lesser than their secretaries, ANI reported.
In March 2016, the salary of Telangana legislators was increased by 163% – from Rs 83,000 to Rs 2.5 lakh. MLAs from the Telugu state are the highest paid in the country.
As per a Bill passed in December 2015, Delhi legislators earn Rs 2.1 lakh a month.
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