NEW DELHI: Some Rajya Sabha members on Wednesday demanded a "transparent mechanism" to fix their salaries and allowances, with one even suggesting their salary be fixed at Re 1 more than that of the Rs 2.50 lakh monthly salary recommended for the cabinet secretary by the 7th Central Pay Commission.
Raising the matter as a point of order as soon as zero hour began in the morning, Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agrawal said the government had said it was constituting a "super committee" after media hype over the joint parliamentary panel's recommendation to double the pay and perks of lawmakers.
While holding that the government could not set up a super committee over the joint parliamentary committee, Agrawal said, "It's not as if we are not affected by inflation. If people expect good conduct from us, there should be transparency with MPs as well. It will be appropriate if we get Re 1 more than what has been fixed for the cabinet secretary."
JD(U) leader K C Tyagi joined Agrawal and said a "super committee" would be unconstitutional. "How can there be a committee to monitor a joint committee set up by Lok Sabha Speaker and Rajya Sabha Chairman?" he said.
Tyagi said though he was not against the 7th CPC recommendations, MPs should also get a fair deal. "It (CPC) has 169 types of privileges for central government employees... a hair-cutting allowance, a shoe-polishing allowance etc," he said.
Deputy Chairman P J Kurien, however, did not allow any further discussion. "Who is telling you there can be a committee to monitor a parliamentary committee? Parliament is supreme, there cannot be such a committee... It is all your apprehension," he said.
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