The Assam Assembly on Friday passed a Bill to cut the salary of government employees by 10% if they do not provide for their aged parents or siblings with disability, PTI reported. The amount deducted from their monthly pay will be given to the parents or siblings to support themselves.
The Assam Employees’ Parents Responsibility and Norms for Accountability and Monitoring Bill, 2017 – or the Pronam Bill – was introduced because of instances of parents living in old age homes as their children do not care for them, Assam Cabinet minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The legislation was passed by the Assembly by a voice vote.
However, former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi criticised the Bill, calling it an “insult” to Assamese society. “Our culture is to not only look after our old parents and siblings, but to take care of even cousins and other relatives,” he said, claiming that the legislation interfered in the private lives of government employees.
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