President, PM, MPs to take a pay cut to fund govt's efforts to fight COVID-19
New Delhi: The Union cabinet on Monday approved an ordinance to reduce the salaries, allowances and pensions of Members of Parliament (MPs) by 30 per cent for one year and the amount will be utilised in the fight against coronavirus.
The President, Vice President, governors of states have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut as a social responsibility, Union minister Prakash Javadekar said.
Briefing reporters, the minister said the cabinet approved an ordinance amending the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954 reducing allowances and pension by 30 pet cent from April 1 2020 for one year.
The money will go to Consolidated Fund of India, he added.
The Cabinet also approved temporary suspension of MPLAD (Member of Parliament local Area Development) fund scheme during 2020-21 and 2021-22, and the funds will be used for managing health services and the adverse impact of COVID-19 pandemic in the country, he said.
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Trump says he ‘hasn’t even thought about’ continuing Iran ceasefire
Washington: US President Donald Trump has said he has not yet considered whether he would continue the ceasefire involving Iran, while also claiming the United States holds the advantage in negotiations.
Speaking to reporters, Trump said he was prepared to make a deal with “whoever is running the show” in Iran.
“They are fighting with each other, there’s tremendous infighting. They’re probably fighting for leadership in many cases. I think they’re fighting not to be leader because we knocked out two levels of leaders,” he said.
Trump added, “When they want they can call me. We have all the cards, we’ve won everything.”
Referring to ongoing negotiations, he said, “They gave us a paper that should’ve been better. And, interestingly, immediately when I cancelled it [envoy trip to Pakistan], within 10 minutes we got a new paper that was much better.”
“We talked about they will not have a nuclear weapon, very simple … They offered a lot, but not enough,” he added.
When asked whether he would continue the ceasefire, Trump replied, “I haven’t even thought about it.”
The remarks come as uncertainty remains over the future of the temporary truce and broader negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
