Karnataka Assembly passes bill to cut salaries of legislature members by 30 percent
Bengaluru: The Karnataka assembly on Tuesday passed a bill to reduce salaries and allowances of members of the state legislature by 30 percent for a year to augment financial resources required to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
The state expects to save somewhere between Rs 16 crore to Rs 18 crore by this exercise, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister J C Madhuswamy said, while moving the 'Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances and Certain Other Law (Amendment) Ordinance, 2020' to effect the changes.
"In the wake of COVID-19, we discussed with leaders of our party and also the opposition that as a gesture, ministers, MLAs and MLCs, heads of authorities, the Speaker and Deputy Speaker should agree to a 30 percent salary cut," Madhuswamy told the Assembly.
Appreciating the move, Arkalgud JD(S) MLA A T Ramaswamy demanded to know how the government-approved hike in salaries of judicial officers during the pandemic when the state was facing a financial crunch.
"During this coronavirus period, the state is facing financial problems. It is our duty to rush aid for relief work.
However, should this law be applied to all or only to the Karnataka Legislature?" Ramaswamy asked the Law Minister.
He alleged that judicial officers in Karnataka had on their own, hiked their salaries, and then the government gave its nod.
"Is this appropriate? Has the government lost its strength? Without seeking your consent, without the approval of the legislature, if they hike their salaries and you give your nod later, are they above the law or the Constitution? You need to clarify this," Ramaswamy said.
To this, Madhuswamy said he was not in a position to immediately give an answer as he did not have the facts.
He, however, assured Ramaswamy that he would gather the information and provide it to him.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
