By IANS,
Kolkata : The generous salary hike for Indian parliamentarians has upset the pro-Maoist tribal body Peoples’ Committee Against Police Atrocities (PCAPA). It will observe black day on Aug 27 and 28 in three West Bengal districts to protest the “excessive expenditure” of MPs.
PCAPA spokesperson Manoj Mahato told IANS: “At a time when a section of workers are being denied their due wages, how could MPs be entitled to a salary of Rs.50,000 per month, in addition to expense allowances amounting to Rs.50,000?”
“Most of the MPs have done nothing good for the people. Even they keep for themselves a major percentage of the money allotted to them under the MPLAD (Member of Parliament Local Area Development) scheme,” said Manoj.
The MPLAD funds allotted for implementing development schemes for the people and the money spent on the salary of MPs belongs to the common people, he said.
“The money is collected by the government from the public as service taxes and income tax amounting to crores of rupees, from which the salary of the MPs is paid. So we can’t let the government spend our money unnecessarily,” said the PCAPA spokesperson.
“We have decided to protest against the unreasonable hike in the salary of MPs. To protest against the excessive expenditure of the MPs, all people in the Junglemahal (Maoist affected forested areas of West Midnapore, Bankura and Purulia) have been requested to observe black days Aug 27 and 28.”
“During the two-day black days’ observation, we will hoist black flags in several places across Junglemahal,” added Manoj.