Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar on Wednesday said MPs of the Bharatiya Janata Party and its allies in the National Democratic Alliance will give up their salary for the 23 days of the ongoing Budget Session, when an unproductive Parliament was adjourned repeatedly because of protests by the Opposition, PTI reported.
“This money is given to serve the people, and if we are not able to do so, we have no right to take the people’s money,” Kumar told reporters, according to the Hindustan Times. “We’re ready to talk about all the issues, but they are not letting the Houses function.”
He blamed the Congress for stalling the proceedings in both Houses of Parliament. Accusing the party of indulging in “anti-democratic” politics, the Union minister said it was a “criminal wastage” of taxpayers’ money, and they were not able to pass important bills.
The second half of the Budget Session, which began on March 5 and will end this Friday, has been as good as non-functional because of repeated protests by several Opposition parties with different demands – MPs from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam want the government to set up a Cauvery Management Board; the Telugu Desam Party and YSR Congress have been demanding special category status for Andhra Pradesh; the Telangana Rashtra Samithi is protesting for more job reservation in Telangana; and MPs of the Congress and Bahujan Samaj Party on Wednesday brought up the Supreme Court judgement on the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities) Act in the Rajya Sabha.
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