Srinagar, Sep 29: The Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly on Tuesday withdrew three Bills seeking an enhancement in the salaries and allowances of the Chief Minister, Ministers and Members of the Legislative Assembly after objections from BJP legislators triggered a fresh political confrontation in the House.
Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, who introduced the proposed legislation, announced its withdrawal after the BJP members raised objections to the salary hike, with the debate turning into an exchange over the financial position of elected representatives and the pending demands of daily wagers.
Responding to the objections, Omar said: “The House Committee that had recommended the enhancement had not recorded any dissenting note against the proposal.” He accused the BJP of attempting to politicise the issue by linking the proposed increase in legislators’ salaries and allowances with the problems faced by daily wagers.
The Chief Minister said he would not allow the issue to become a political controversy and made it clear that he was prepared to withdraw the legislation if even one member opposed it.
“I was never in favour of it. If a single member opposes, it will never pass. I withdraw the Bill,” Omar said in the House.
The Assembly subsequently approved the withdrawal of the Bills by a majority, bringing the proposed salary revision to a halt. The three Bills covered separate categories of elected representatives and members of the Council of Ministers, seeking revisions in their salaries and allowances. The proposals followed recommendations made by a House committee constituted to examine the remuneration of legislators and other elected functionaries.
The proposed enhancement was intended to revise the existing pay structure and allowances, which are governed by the relevant Jammu and Kashmir legislation. However, the objections raised by the BJP shifted the focus from the proposed financial revisions to the political implications of increasing the remuneration of elected representatives while several categories of government workers continue to press for regularisation and other service-related benefits.
Omar’s decision to withdraw the Bills came amid continuing political differences between the ruling National Conference-led government and the BJP over a range of issues during the ongoing Assembly session. BJP leaders objected to the salary hike, citing pending issues of daily-wagers, casual labourers, vocational trainers, ASHA workers and need-based workers.
Talking to reporters, LoP Sunil Sharma said that the salary hike can wait; let the Omar-led government first resolve the issues of daily-wagers and those who are hitting roads every day. When asked that it was the BJP leader Surjit Singh Salathia, who was heading the committee on the salary hike of ministers and legislators and had recommended a hike, he said: “The House is the final authority, and the BJP opposed the salary hike in the House. Let the daily-wagers issue get resolved first; we can wait for salary hike.”
With the Bills withdrawn, the proposed enhancement will not take effect through this legislation, and the existing salary and allowance framework will continue to apply unless revised through a subsequent legislative measure.
