Karnataka Assembly passes bills on salary hike for CM, lawmakers
Bengaluru, Mar 21 (PTI): The Karnataka Legislative Assembly on Friday passed bills approving a salary hike for the Chief Minister, Ministers, and all legislators, which will cost the exchequer Rs 62 crore annually.
The Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowance (Amendment) Bill and the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2025 were passed amid chaos, without any discussion, as the opposition BJP protested against the 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public contracts and demanded a judicial probe into an alleged "honey-trap" attempt involving a minister.
As per the Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowance (Amendment) Bill, the Chief Minister’s monthly salary will increase from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, while ministers’ salaries will rise from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh.
The Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2025 raises the monthly salaries of MLAs and MLCs from Rs 40,000 to Rs 80,000, while their pensions will increase from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.
The monthly salary of the Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council Chairperson will also be revised from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh.
"There has been a considerable increase in the cost of living. The salaries and allowances of the CM, ministers, ministers of state, and deputy ministers have not been revised for a long time," the Minister's Salaries and Allowance (Amendment) Bill stated, adding that the proposed measure will lead to an additional recurring expenditure of approximately Rs 10 crore per year.
Similarly, citing the "considerable increase in the cost of living," the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill justified the hike in salaries and allowances of parliamentary functionaries and legislators, estimating an additional recurring expenditure of Rs 52 crore annually.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
