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BJP lawmakers reluctant to contribute 30% salary for Covid fund: Congress

Dehradun: According to an RTI reply, the Uttarakhand government said that 45 BJP legislators are contributing less than 30 percent of their salaries for the CM's Covid-19 funds.

Chief Minister Trivdendra Singh Rawat in a cabinet decision had announced the 30 percent salary-cut for the Covid-19 in April to generate funds for tackling the pandemic in Uttarakhand.

The hill state has 70 elected MLAs and the CM's decision was hailed by the BJP state unit but in past four months, embarrassing discrepancies have cropped up in the Covid-19 funds contribution by the MLAs.

Congress MLA (Kedarnath) Manoj Rawat had filed the RTI to know the exact status on July 14 and a copy is with the Millennium Post, which reveals that out of the total 58 MLA of BJP–including one Anglo Indian–only 13 MLAs are following the Chief Minister's cabinet decision of giving 30 percent of their salaries.

Rawat said, "The RTI reply has shockingly exposed the double standards of the BJP legislators in Uttarakhand who during the Covid-19 lockdown were busy in the Modi Kitchen and clanking utensils but when it came to contributing their salary they developed cold feet."

Rawat stated that 16 BJP MLAs are contributing Rs 30,000, four giving Rs 12,600 and rest 13 MLAs are giving only Rs 9,000 per month. While the Congress MLAs, the RTI reply revealed, are deducting Rs 57,600 per month (30 percent of the salary MLA) for the CM's Covid-19 funds.

BJP state spokesperson Devendra Bhasin defended the party MLAs by saying that the system of salary deduction could not be put in place since it is a house matter.

"The salary of MLA cannot be deducted by a cabinet decision so due to this confusion the deductions could be less than 30% but our government is working out a solution for this and then implementing the cabinet decision."

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