Irene Cardozo
Many of our Goan youth, boys and girls, make a beeline to Gulf countries to help them get decent jobs so that they can live decent comfortable lives and give their near and dear ones some comforts too. But for this they have to slog and make a lot of sacrifices. They usually come back to their homes in Goa for a short vacation when they are provided with tickets by their employers. That way they need not spend their savings to come back home. But even when they have done a long stint abroad, we do not envy them because we know what they have gone through.
But our MPs are in an enviable position. It is learnt that a parliamentary panel has asked for a 100 percent rise in salary and daily allowances of MPs and 75 percent rise in pension of ex-MPs. An MP is now expected to receive Rs 1 lakh instead of the existing Rs 50,000. Ex-MPs are expected to get Rs 35,000 as pension instead of the existing Rs 20,000. The panel has also recommended that the daily allowance of MPs of Rs 2000 for attending the House during Parliament sessions should be doubled to Rs 4000.
It is an open secret that many MPs have cases registered against them. They have managed to win a seat in Parliament because of their money and muscle power used during elections. They are elected to be our representatives in Parliament. They are expected to voice our problems and find suitable solutions to them. They are expected to make laws for the good of the country and introduce schemes which are beneficial to their constituents. Instead we see that MPs, cutting across party lines, are determined to stall Parliament proceedings even before they can start. Most of the sessions see unruly behaviour by the MPs, coming to the well of the House, staging walkouts, trading abuses, hurling shoes and mikes at one another and even coming to blows. And all this is telecast live on television.
Inspite of all this, they draw salaries and allowances many times more than ordinary citizens. To qualify for pension under service rules in any other job, you have to have something like at least 15 years in service. Here one term entitles an MP to qualify for pension etc. for the rest of his/her life. It is no wonder then that people try to become MPs at any cost, instead of seeking other jobs.
The behavior of many MPs outside Parliament is not worthy of emulation either. Their behavior is very often rude and arrogant. Many of them engage in anti-social activities and corruption. Their names figure in murders, kidnappings and extortion. They also have goons who act on behalf of them. Some of them have antiquated mindsets of the male-dominated Indian society and so do not hesitate to pass sexist remarks against women.
What then entitles our MPs to such huge rises in salaries and allowances? Let them realize that they are being paid out of tax-payers’ hard-earned money and they owe it not only to their constituents but also to the country at large to work selflessly for the good of the people without expecting any undue returns.
