Gujarat MLAs to get Rs 1.16 lakh salary a month
Gandhinagar, Sep 20 : Cutting across party lines, the Gujarat legislators on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill in the State Assembly proposing to hike their salaries by at least Rs 45,000 a month with retrospective effect from February this year.
Accordingly, the monthly salary of the MLAs will be increased to Rs 1.16 lakh from the existing Rs 70,727, a rise of about 64 per cent, while those of the Ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and Leader of Opposition will go up to Rs 1.32 lakh from Rs 86,000, an increase of about 54 per cent.
The revised salaries come into retrospective effect from February with a disbursal of Rs 6 crore in arrears. The new remuneration structure will put an extra burden of Rs 10 crore annually on the state exchequer.
Minister of State for Home and Parliamentary Affairs Pradeepsinh Jadeja, who introduced the Bill in the House, justified the hike stating that the salaries of lawmakers in most other states was much more than those in Gujarat where the last increase came 13 years ago in 2005.
Opposition Congress MLAs also did not hesitate from supporting the salary revision. "What is wrong in that? When everybody's salaries have been raised, why should there be a problem if our pay is hiked? We too have to look after our children and run our homes," asserted Congress legislator Niranjan Patel. He went a step further to demand that the lawmakers be compensated for the "unbearable fuel prices hike".
Congress Chief Whip in the Assembly Ashwin Kotwal said the Congress supported it because the salaries were last revised 13 years ago.
Firebrand Independent Dalit MLA Jignesh Mewani said: "It is obvious...every legislator, including myself, is glad. But I have a rider, what about salaries of ASHA workers and Anganwadi workers as well as mid-day meal and contractual sanitation workers? I will bring a private member bill about this in the next session of the Assembly."
After tabling the Salaries and Allowances of Members, Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Gujarat Assembly, Ministers and Leader of Opposition Laws (Amendment) Bill 2018, Jadeja informed the House that the salary of MLAs in the 182-member Gujarat Assembly had not been revised since 2005, while the remuneration of their counterparts in other states was comparatively much higher.
For instance, the salaries of legislators in states like Uttarakhand, Telangana, Jharkhand and Maharashtra were Rs 2.91 lakh, Rs 2.50 lakh, Rs 2.25 lakh and Rs 2.13 lakh, respectively.
It is only in Bihar, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and Odisha that the salaries of lawmakers are just over Rs 1 lakh, comparable to the remuneration the Gujarat MLAs would now get.
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Woman threatens to end life as police official refuses to accept love proposal, FIR registered
Bengaluru (PTI): A woman was booked on charges of obstructing a police inspector from discharging his official duties and threatening to commit suicide if he did not accept her love proposal, police said on Wednesday.
The 45-year-old inspector attached to the Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station here alleged that the woman repeatedly harassed him, they said.
According to his complaint, the harassment began on October 30, when he started receiving calls from an unknown woman from multiple phone numbers.
During these calls, she allegedly spoke incoherently and claimed to have close links with several highly placed individuals, including the Chief Minister, Deputy CM, Home Minister and other political leaders.
Police said the woman sent photographs via WhatsApp purportedly showing herself with these dignitaries and claimed she could use their influence to compel the inspector to accept her proposal. She also allegedly threatened to use her contacts against him if he refused.
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The inspector said that he advised her to visit the police station and submit a written complaint if she had any grievance. However, she did not do so and instead continued to repeatedly call and send messages, which disturbed his official duties, the FIR said.
According to the FIR, on November 7, the woman allegedly visited his office and handed over an envelope containing some tablets along with handwritten letters. The letters contained emotionally charged and inappropriate content, and the woman claimed they were written using her blood, indicating obsessive behaviour.
Despite being clearly informed that the number she was contacting was an official departmental number meant for public service, she allegedly continued making unnecessary calls and messages, causing mental harassment and obstruction to his day-to-day duties, he alleged.
During the inquiry, police learnt that the woman had allegedly exhibited similar behaviour with other police and government officials in the past, it stated.
On December 12, she allegedly went to his police station and shouted and threatened to commit suicide and ruin the inspector's career if he did not respond to her proposal, prompting him to lodge a complaint.
"Based on the complaint, a case was registered against the woman under Sections 132 (assault or criminal force to deter a public servant from discharge of duty), 351(2) (criminal intimidation) and 221 (obstructing a public servant in discharge of public functions) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita at the Ramamurthy Nagar Police Station. The matter is under investigation," police said.
