Inflation, GST and a salary hike for Delhi MLAs! What do citizens have to say?

- July 26, 2022
| By : Ali Fraz Rezvi |

While the AAP government hiked the salaries of its MLAs and ministers by a whopping 67% earlier this month, citizens have been struggling with the inflated prices of essential items

Photo: Pixabay

Amrita Singh

Resident, Kanhaiya NagarAmrita Singh

People’s representatives or ‘public servants’, as they like to call themselves, have been leeching off taxpayer money forever. Now they are not even trying to hide it any more. Unfair as it is, it does not surprise me: at a time when citizens are still trying to recover the losses they had suffered in the pandemic years, our central and state governments continue to be the blind-eyed inconsiderate bodies that they are.

 

Manya Narula

Mental health professional

Manya NarulaWhy do we have to pay the price of the lavish lifestyle of these MLAs?  Us common people already have so much on our plate and this just adds on to the burden. Already it is difficult to afford these items by the people of the country and this price hike is just giving us all a heart attack!

 

 

 

Antara Baluni

Student and theatre artistAntara Baluni

As a college student, it is really difficult to keep everything within the budget. Prices of daily commodities going up makes it even more difficult. Most of the money goes into metro fare, what’s left goes into personal care and stationery. Now that prices will go up further, I have to ask for extra money from my father. What’s even more frustrating is that his salary won’t go up like the MLAs of Delhi. We are three sisters so I know that we have to tighten our belts from August.

 

Deepak Gupta

Student of Law

Deepak Gupta

The levy of GST has made living more expensive. The government does not have sufficient funds, accordingly the GST is increased. If the cost of living is high for the common citizen, then it is also high for the people who are elected to render social welfare to the common people (MLAs, MPs). Therefore, increase in their salary is nowhere opposed to the soul of the Constitution as well as to public welfare.

 

Hari Chandra Jha

Entrepreneur, founder of PraharxHari Chandra Jha

 As residents of Delhi, we need to pass a bill holding elected officials and bureaucrats accountable for their jobs. This is taxpayer money that they are splurging on themselves. States are getting into debt through such wasteful expenditure and quality of life is not improving at all for the citizens – only for politicians. It’s not a surprise that the AAP government has been most unfriendly to the Delhi middle class!

 

Mohd Aquib

Student

Mohd AquibWe are living in a time when several countries such as the United States of America and China are dealing with inflation and so is India. But an increase in GST on daily use items by 5% is sheer injustice done to Indian citizens by the central government. If we look at it through a different lens, it is mostly the state governments who wrote to the Centre as they were facing financial issues, and have accepted the new GST, except Kerala. In such a situation, if there is a hike in the salaries of MLAs, it is nothing but misuse of power.

 

 

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