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| Edited By: |Source: DNA |Updated: Sep 21, 2018, 07:05 AM IST
The members of the Gujarat assembly have never had it so good. At a time when petrol prices have shot through the roof and the rupee is in decline, a salary hike of 60 per cent is a windfall. It is interesting to note that in a matter of just 26 minutes, the political establishment decided to ‘pamper’ itself for the ‘hard work’ it does on behalf of the toiling masses. There was no debate, no dissent, no screaming and shouting, no rushing to the well of the House. The BJP and the Opposition buried the hatchet, acted like blood brothers and got themselves a fatter pay packet. This indulgence will cost the state exchequer Rs 10 crore a year. What is more, it comes into effect retrospectively from December 22, 2017, which means generous arrears await each MLA.
According to a report released by the Association for Democratic Reforms last December after the state elections, “out of the 182 newly-elected MLAs, 141 (77 per cent) are crorepatis”. If one looks at the pay-hike scenario, there are some important takeaways. First, when it comes to protecting their self-interests, parties across the spectrum have no qualms in joining hands despite strong ideological differences. In the Gujarat assembly, the traditional political adversaries, the BJP and the Congress who, on most occasions, seem to be at each other’s throats, unanimously endorsed a decision that benefits only them. And, the same parties can play up their differences in public to polarise society for electoral gains. Even the independent ‘firebrand’ leader Jignesh Mevani who did make a feeble show of protest finally succumbed to the lure of the hike. In a masterstroke, the Gujarat BJP silenced the Opposition’s growing clamour for relief for farmers and the public who are battling inflation.
