NEWS reports said the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs has returned four bills on doubling the remuneration and privileges of the President, Prime Minister, Speaker, Deputy Speaker and the Ministers advising the concerned ministry to similarly double the pay and privileges of the lawmakers and return five bills together for members’ approval.
It appears that the lawmakers on the committee returned all those bills for the bills on their own remuneration and privileges showed less than being doubled. It may be mentioned that the pay and perks of lawmakers were also double few years back. Suranjit Sengupta told reporters that the basic salaries of Senior Secretaries are now more than the lawmakers and it is not acceptable. Jatiya Samajtantrik Dal lawmaker Moin Uddin Khan Badal has been quoted in the report as saying since people behold the sovereign power and lawmakers represent the people they can’t be at a lower level of bureaucrats in terms of salary and other allowances. Since the Senior Secretaries get more than Tk 86,000 per month, lawmakers’ salary must be more.
It appears that the lawmakers made serious appraisal of their financial interest claiming that people’s representatives can’t be denied of their due dignity. But to the question what financial benefits and fruits of development they have brought to the people has no answer from any quarter, except tall talks about imaginary development in the ground. It is wrong in the first place to compare pay and perks of the government leaders with bureaucrats. Most leaders are not highly educated and capable to run an effective government, except being that they are people’s representatives.
In our view they must prove to have done enough for the people first before claiming huge financial benefits. It is no secret that most governments leaders — be it in Parliament or Executive Branch have enough resources in hands amassed legally or otherwise and they are not facing livelihood risks. They are hungry of status. But in fact as lawmakers they are entitled to receive honorarium instead of salary and to be accountable to the people first before fulfilling their own interest.
Nobody should be surprised that the ministers and lawmakers think their dignity as to be judged by the money. In fact when politics is good business, why money should not be given priority.
