The policy of ‘no work-no pay’ should be implemented for MPs and MLAs
Parliament is the temple of our country, not allowing it to function is a matter of great concern. Reforms take shape from the Parliament, if the decision-making slows down due to the ruckus by the lawmakers, the nation will not be able to achieve any objective.
To prevent such a situation ‘no pay no work’ can be a solution. Debates and protests are an integral part of a democracy, be that as it may, but any attempt to stop the level will be disastrous and can be compared to an emergency-like situation. It is the responsibility of the ruling party to protect the sanctity of Parliament and manage it to ensure fruitful functioning.
The attendance of each MP should be transparent to all of us. Why should only politicians have fun? We are seeing deadlocks, and disruptions in Parliament, and this trend is increasing. Politicians riding on our money, not fulfilling their duty, and stalling the functioning of Parliament for their vested interests, should have no right to claim money for wasted time.
Along with the pay cut, he should be made liable to pay for all the facilities and amenities he gets during the session. Disruption and controversy should be severely punished. If someone is not honest in his work, why would he be paid? They should be punished. Parliament works for eighty days during the session. There are only six hours of work each day.
If we take into account the total annual expenditure on Parliament, then it costs 2.5 lakhs per minute to run the House. Anyway, directly or indirectly we are paying only this amount. We pay tax for social assets like road tax, tourism, and every place, pay tax to get better service, but we can’t see development on the road or elsewhere now. Then the big question is where does all this money go? Of course, this goes to the politicians, they are paid with our money, and the tax we pay on each unit adds to their luxury, so no work no money is a good policy. How many other jobs would pay you for hours wasted to this extent? This is nobody.
These are the people who are running the country and how much they value time. Name-calling, protesting to such an extent that no one else can speak, throwing chairs, coming to the session naked, and what not. They believe that this too is some sort of work while complaining that the other party is not allowing them to work. They are paid with our money, the tax we pay on each unit is added to their luxurious useless but ridiculous payment system.
It is time we start giving importance to our hard-earned money and stop this pointless wastage of working hours in Parliament on every issue. These are the people who are paid to sit and draw conclusions instead of playing political games. Biju Janata Dal (BJD) MP Baijayant Panda recently announced that he would return his salary in proportion to the time he wasted in Parliament. This move was praised and appreciated by the people. If anyone can take the initiative for the better future of our nation, let us make it a policy so that others follow it.
Various appeals have been made by the President and other prominent leaders that the disruption should not be tolerated. But our politicians are good at being unheard whenever possible. These are the people who have been voted and sent as representatives to discuss and arrive at a conclusion on the various problems facing our country. Unfortunately, they end up fighting only to prove how wrong the other side is or take a nice nap till the session ends and they go home with the handsome package for the month. No work no pay policy should be implemented for MPs.
The whole country runs on this basis. Why should it be any different for politicians? No work, no pay, seems to be the most logical solution to stop the waste of Parliament sessions at the hands of MPs. They feel that it is their job to blame the ruling party, come what may. Interrupted sessions are a big loss and the only way to deal with it is the no work no pay policy. (Writer is a research Scholar in Political Science, Poetess, Independent journalist and columnist. The views expressed above are the author’s own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of Central Chronicle
