Announcement of auto-increase in salaries and allowances of Parliamentarians every five year according to inflation-rate and price-index is a step in right direction to avoid sudden steep-rise after a long gap and on the other hand depriving them by getting low salaries is a step in right direction. But Union Finance Minister should have followed same principle in respect of salaries of President, Vice President, Governors and judges of higher courts.
It is totally illogical to give hefty and not-needed salaries like Rs 5,00,000, Rs 4,00,000 and Rs 3,50,000 to President, Vice President and Governors at a stage of life when mostly their needs have minimised to be negligible that too when persons holding these posts even do not have to spend on many of aspects in day-to-day life.
Such hefty pay-packages to these top legislative posts and also to judges of higher courts is against principle of much-desired equality when these post-holders must get pay, perks, pension, facilities including post-retirement ones at par with top-most bureaucrat and service-chiefs. Principle of providing pay at different levels for persons holding these posts is not at all needed.
Madhu Agrawal
(The views expressed by the author in the article are his/her own.)
