Punjab Vidhan Sabha’s budget session concluded on Thursday with the passage of four bills, including the one to discontinue the earlier practice of giving multiple term pensions to the former legislators amidst a fiery exchange of words between the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and the Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa.
With the passage of ‘The Punjab State Legislatures Members (Pension and Medical Facilities Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2022, the former legislators will get pension for a single term — a move expected to save Rs 19.53 crore annually.
Now, the former MLA, irrespective of the number of terms he had served as a member and irrespective of the tenures of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, in which he had served as a member, will get a pension of Rs 60,000 per month-plus-Dearness Allowance (DA) thereon (as admissible to the Punjab Government pensioners).
However, when a former MLA will attain the age of 65, 75, and 80, he or she shall, respectively, be entitled to an increase of five per cent, 10 per cent, and 15 per cent of the basic pension, admissible to him or her at the attainment of such age.
As per the earlier provisions an ex-MLA used to get Rs 15,000 per month pension plus Dearness Allowance thereon (as admissible to the Punjab Government Pensioners) for the first term, and an additional 15,000 plus Dearness Allowance thereon (as admissible to the Punjab Government Pensioners) for every subsequent term irrespective of the tenures of the Punjab Vidhan Sabha, in which he or she had served as a member.
As the Parliamentary Affairs Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer tabled the Bill, Congress MLA from Jalandhar Cantt Pargat Singh insisted on keeping in mind the protocol while deciding on MLA’s pension. “An MLA’s protocol is equal to that of the Chief Secretary...I agree that every former MLA should be given one pension only...But, at the same time, it should be ensured that their pay and pension should be higher, or at least equivalent to the Chief Secretary keeping in mind the protocol which says that the posts of the MLA and that of Chief Secretary are equal,” he said.
Joining in, SAD MLA Dr Sukhwinder Kumar Sukhi appreciated the decision but maintained that MLAs should given due respect, and should not be downgraded. Insisting that all MLAs should not be categorised into one as there are many who actually wanted to serve the people and are not “chor”, he pointed that there are members in the House who do not have regular source of income and thus while taking any decision, their condition should also be kept in the mind.
Participating in the debate on the Bill, Bajwa also insisted that one should not generalise and dub all MLAs as “beimaan” or “thugs”. He added that we should pay them (MLAs) well, so that no one will think of indulging in such practices as many wanted to work in good faith and serve the people.
Intervening, Mann said that the Bill was not regarding MLA’s salaries or other benefits, but regarding pensions of former MLAs. Countering Bajwa and other MLAs’ argument to ensure MLAs’ salary is equivalent or higher than that of a Chief Secretary, Mann said: “An officer becomes eligible for pension only after 20 years of service...MLA is elected for five years...And after five years, you wanted to have pension equivalent to an IAS, CS?? A young man, who becomes MLA at the age of 27, becomes eligible for pension just after five years, in such a scenario it is unfair to equate both.”
Taking Bajwa head-on, Mann asked, “Why you apply for that job when you know about the salary...Do something else.”
Angered Bajwa retorted asking the Chief Minister why he always make everything “so dramatic...Why are you always playing to the gallery?”
Continuing, Mann added that a committee is already in place to review MLAs’ salaries. Responding to Bajwa, who could not be heard as his mike was off, Mann said that the Congress should not have any expectations from them... “We are accountable to the people,” he added.
Further taking a dig at Bajwa, Mann referred to his old interview ahead of elections. “Bajwa, in his interview, claimed that he had served under five Chief Ministers, and now wanted to serve Punjab...Now here he is seeking salary hike,” he quipped while asking the members to look at the people who are earning just Rs 5,000 a month but are still pushing their life.
Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, intervening, added that any member can put forth their opinion before the Committee set up to review salaries, heading by the Vidhan Sabha Speaker, as “nothing is final as of now and MLAs can also give their views in writing”.
Pargat Singh added that he would not have any issue if the Government do away with this protocol system. “But if you work in a decorum, you should stand somewhere...otherwise, no BDO, panchayat secretary, no one will respect you,” he said, with Mann adding that there would be no change in respect of an MLA.
The House also passed The Punjab Rural Development (Amendment) Bill, 2022; The Punjab Agricultural Produce Markets (Amendment) Bill, 2022; The Punjab Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (Amendment) Bill, 2022, before the Speaker adjourned the House sine die.
40-feet tall Lord Krishna statue unveiled in Kurukshetra
PNS / Kurukshetra
Amid rains and chanting of mantras of Holy Gita, Haryana Governor Bandaru Dattatreya, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) chief Mohan Bhagwat jointly unveiled the 40-ft tall ‘Virat Swaroop’ (universal form) of Lord Krishna at Jyotisar village in Kurukshetra to mark the beginning of the Gupt-Navratri on Thursday.
The 40-ft tall ‘Virat Swaroop’ of Lord Shri Krishna weighing close to 35 tons is made from a mixture of 4 types of metals, including 85 percent copper and 15 percent other metals at a cost of Rs 10 crore. In this vast form, 9 forms of Lord Shri Krishna are depicted. The government had roped in sculptor Ram Vanji Sutar, who has also designed the 182-metre Statue of Unity in Gujarat, for the project.
The statue has been made of Ashtadhatu (an alloy of eight metals often used for casting idols in temples). It has been developed by Kurukshetra Development Board (KDB) and Haryana Tourism Department. Located on the Kurukshetra-Pehowa road, around 12km from Kurukshetra, Jyotisar village is a venerated historical site where the battle of Mahabharata started. It is also the birthplace of the Bhagavad Gita as it is considered that the Bhagavad Gita sermon was delivered during the Mahabharata.
During the unveiling programme, a magnificent description of Lord Krishna’s journey from ‘Viraat Roop’ and ‘Vishwaroop’ were also depicted through an incredible light and sound show.
Shrimad Bhagavad Gita is scripture of all religions: Guv
Haryana Governor Dattatraya said that Shrimad Bhagvad Gita is scripture of all religions which teaches the essence of life and humanity. Kurukshetra is known as the land of the Bhagavad Gita where Arjuna received the eternal message of Gita. He said that in the coming days, Kurukshetra will be recognised on the world map in terms of historical, religious and tourism related aspects with the efforts of the Central and State Government.
Celestial message of life delivered by Lord Krishna is relevant even today: CM
Haryana Chief Minister said that it is a matter of great fortune that the statue of Shri Krishna has been unveiled today. The importance of Gita is in the whole world, there can be no greater book for humanity than this. The message of living life given by Lord Shri Krishna to the whole world at that time is relevant even today.
He said that apart from the huge statue of Shri Krishna, a world-class museum is also being built. About Rs 200 crore will be spent on other works including this museum. Mahabharata and Saraswati civilization will be explained in this museum. The message of Gita will be given through light and show in the museum which will indeed become the center of attraction for the people of the country and the world.
Khattar said that Kurukshetra is being made a pilgrimage site by the Haryana Government and the Central Government under the Krishna Circuit Scheme, which will become a center of attraction. A temple of Tirupati Balaji is being built in Kurukshetra. ISKCON temple and Akshardham temple have been built. Gita Gyan Sansthanam is also going to become a big institution for spreading the knowledge of Gita. Research work is also going on here. Not only this, the verses of Gita have been included in the syllabus of Class X.
Khattar said that just as Kurukshetra will be known as the land of Shrimad Bhagvad Gita from now on, similarly Dharmakshetra Kurukshetra will also be made the Land of Shri Krishna, just like people visit Vrindavan, Mathura and Dwarka to imbibe the thoughts of Shri Krishna and the message of his life. Similarly, they will also come to Kurukshetra, because in reality the message of life was given on the holy land of Kurukshetra.
Gita does not belong to a single religion, it is a book giving essence of humanity to the whole world: Mohan Bhagwat
Sarsanghchalak of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, Mohan Bhagwat said that the answer to the problems of the universe and the solution to the problems of the entire humanity and the knowledge of never-fading happiness is in Bhagvad Gita, which is given to every human being. Due to this knowledge of Gita, Kurukshetra, apart from being the land of Mahabharata, will now be known as the land of Gita in the world.
