Bhiwani: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Varun Gandhi on Wednesday stirred a row as he claimed that he was gagged by the Prime Minister’s Office when he questioned the hike in the salary of MPs. In the last 10 years, salaries of the MPs have been raised seven times, said Gandhi.
During a programme in Model Women's College in Bhiwani, the Sultanpur MP alleged: "I repeatedly raise my voice about the increase in salaries of MPs and not giving details of their assets. Employees of every sector get an increase in their wages based on hard work and honesty. But in the last 10 years, MPs have increased their salaries seven times just by raising their hands."
Notably, the BJP MP has repeatedly been critical of the lawmakers' authority to increase their own salaries and has, in the past, said such a power was not in line with the morals of democracy.
He added that when he raised this issue yet again, he received a call from the PMO asking him why he is increasing the government’s troubles.
“I don't think it is right to increase the salary of MPs whenever you want. You all have Twitter accounts, Facebook accounts to voice your opinions. So one day, I got a call from the Prime Minister saying why are you increasing my troubles? So I said, Sir, I just want the betterment of our political situation. And I am happy that this time it has been introduced and the salary won’t be distributed to anyone who just raises their hand. Now the salaries will be raised only when approved by the constitutional body.”
Every year, Rs 3 lakh crores are spent on education, however, 89 per cent of the amount is actually spent on buildings which cannot be called (facilitators of) education, Gandhi added.