PANJIM: Joining their party colleagues in Parliament, BJP MPs from Goa have also decided not to accept their salaries and allowances for the second phase of the budget session as the proceedings in the Upper and Lower Houses were paralysed by the Opposition.
South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar and Rajya Sabha MP Vinay Tendulkar have written to the secretary general of Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha for a pay-cut of the session period, while North Goa Lok Sabha MP and Minister Shripad Naik is likely to give up his salary and allowances too. The MPs also joined a dharna condemning the disruption of the House outside Parliament House.
“Due to continued interruption in Lok Sabha/Rajya Sabha during entire second part of Bugdet Session – from March 5, 2018 to April 6, 2018, normal legislative and other business could not be transacted. I have, therefore, decided to surrender/not to claim salary and daily allowance for all days allocated for the sittings of the House. Amount already paid, if any, may be recovered from my future accruals on account of salary and daily allowance,” Sawaikar wrote to the secretary general of Lok Sabha on Friday.
Tendulkar, when contacted by Herald confirmed writing to the RS secretary general refusing the salary and allowances.
BJP MPs and the NDA allies have accused the Congress of playing dirty politics and disrupting the sessions as they decided to take a pay cut of the 23 days during which proceedings were paralysed by protests in the post-recess part of the budget session. This is the first time that many MPs will forego their salaries for such a long period of time. As per national news reports, BJP MP Subramanian Swamy is the only BJP MP to refuse giving up his salary.
