The AAP Government is bringing a Bill to hike the salary and allowances of Chief Minister, Ministers and MLAs in the upcoming two-day Session of the Delhi Assembly beginning from Monday. The Government is also likely to bring a resolution against the Centre's Agnipath defence recruitment scheme.
The AAP Government in Punjab on Thursday passed a resolution against the controversial scheme which was announced by the Centre on June 14 and had triggered protests in several parts of the country. As per the Delhi Assembly business listed, the Minister for Law, Justice and Legislative Affairs, Kailash Gahlot will introduce the five Bills related to salary of Ministers, MLAs, Chief Whip, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of the Opposition on Monday.
The two-day Delhi Assembly session will begin from July 4. The session will begin at 11 am on Monday. As per the proposal Bill, the existing monthly salary and allowances from Rs 54,000 to Rs 90,000.
The Kejriwal Government had proposed a salary of Rs 54,000 for the MLAs at par with other states, however, the MHA did not allow this to happen and restricted it to Rs 30,000.
The constituency allowance has been increased from Rs 18,000 to Rs 25,000, secretarial allowance from Rs 10,000 to Rs 15,000, telephone allowance from Rs 8,000 to Rs 10,000 and conveyance allowance from Rs 6000 to Rs 10,000.
The salary and allowances of Delhi MLAs were last revised in 2011. Several BJP, Congress and regional party ruled states provide much more monthly salaries to their MLAs, even though living costs in Delhi are higher than most parts of India, the Delhi government said citing examples of Uttarakhand ( Rs 1.98 lakh), Himachal Pradesh ( Rs 1.9 lakh), Haryana ( Rs 1.55 lakh), Bihar ( Rs 1.3 lakh), Rajasthan ( Rs 1.42 lakh) and Telangana ( Rs 2.5 lakh).
On the resolution against Agnipath, sources said that it would be in the lines of the Punjab government. "Such a resolution and discussion is most likely in the Delhi Assembly too," the sources said.
The Agnipath scheme seeks to recruit in the armed forces youths in the age bracket of 17-and-a-half to 21 years for only four years with a provision to retain 25 per cent of them for 15 more years. For 2022, the upper age limit has been extended to 23 years.
AAP National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had earlier backed youths protesting against the scheme and appealed to the Centre to give them the chance to serve the country throughout their life and not just for four years.
Durgesh Pathak, newly elected AAP MLA from Rajinder Nagar, will also be administered the oath of office during the session.
Leader of Opposition Ramvir Singh Bidhuri said a two-day session was not adequate and accused the Kejriwal government of running away from answering questions on public issues.
Bidhuri also challenged the government to debate in any issues related to waterlogging, poor public transport, education, health, pollution and liquor shops in residential areas. He accused that the Delhi government has failed on all fronts.
In view of the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic, the MLAs will require to wear face mask compulsorily. "They will also compulsorily carry final certificate for COVID-19 vaccination or a negative report of the coronavirus test issued not earlier than 48 hours prior to the commencement of the session on July 4," bulletin said.