5 months ago
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Leader of the Opposition and erstwhile Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced that helium volition forgo his wage and allowances. The determination came aft the Odisha Legislative Assembly passed a measure hiking the salaries of MLAs and ministers by implicit 200% — among the highest remunerations for elected representatives successful the country.
In a missive addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Mr. Patnaik said, “I person been blessed by the love, affection and enactment of the radical of Odisha for the past much than 25 years. I americium highly indebted to the radical of Odisha and their emotion towards maine and my precocious begetter Biju Patnaik. In the twelvemonth 2015 our household decided to donate its ancestral spot ‘Anand Bhawan’ successful Cuttack to beryllium enactment for usage by the radical of Odisha.”
“In the aforesaid spirit, I would similar to forgo the wage and allowances hiked for Leader of Opposition which the Odisha Legislative Assembly has precocious passed. I would similar to petition you to utilize the aforesaid for the payment of mediocre radical of our State,” helium said.
The State Assembly passed a measure tripling the monthly wage of the Chief Minister, Ministers, and MLAs, too hiking pension of erstwhile legislators by threefold. Moreover, the provisions of the Bill, passed connected Tuesday evening, would beryllium retrospectively implemented from June 5, 2024.
After revision, the CM volition gully ₹3.74 lakh per period portion the Deputy Chief Minister’s revised monthly wage stands astatine ₹3.68 lakh. The Cabinet Ministers volition person ₹3.62 lakh portion Ministers of State would gully ₹3.56 lakh. Since Leader of Opposition is treated successful the fertile of furniture minister, his remuneration was fixed astatine ₹3.62 lakh per month. Under the revised wage structure, an MLA volition gully ₹3.45 lakh per period against the ₹1.10 lakh successful 2017.
Even though Mr. Patnaik declared to forgo the hiked salary, his enactment did not dependable immoderate dissent erstwhile the measure was tabled for treatment and passed successful the assembly connected December 9, 2025. Only Laxman Munda, lone CPI (M) MLA successful 147-member House, was not successful favour of steep hike successful salary.
Later, CPI(M) successful a connection had powerfully opposed the transition of ‘The Odisha Legislative Assembly Members’ Salary, Allowances and Pension (Amendment) Bill – 2025’ stating it was brought for treatment without anterior consultation.
“When workers, employees, teachers, strategy workers, nurses, cultivation labourers, and each sections of the moving masses are going done untold misery, earning highly debased wages, and erstwhile lakhs of radical stay unemployed and erstwhile the authorities refuses to code their morganatic demands, the steep summation successful salary, pension, and allowances of MLAs and erstwhile MLAs is unjust, irrational, and anti-people,” Suresh Chandra Panigrahy, CPI (M) Secretary, said.
Civil nine members excessively opposed the steep hike successful wage of MLAs and Ministers. “The threefold summation successful the salaries and pensions of MLAs is simply a sedate betrayal of the mediocre and mean citizens of the State. Moreover, nationalist representatives who had won some MLA and MP seats are presently drafting 2 pensions simultaneously. Such irrational and unequal pension arrangements are ethically unacceptable and morally unjustifiable, helium asserted,” said President of Lokshakti Abhiyan, Prafulla Samantara.
