Sena rejects NDA’s decision to forgo salaries for washed out Budget session
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant says his party was “not on the same page” with the BJP on the issue, while the RSLP said it was unaware of the move.
The Shiv Sena – a BJP ally – has rejected parliamentary affairs minister Ananth Kumar’s announcement that parliamentarians affiliated to the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) won’t claim their salaries for the second half of the budget session, which was nearly washed out due to Opposition protests.
The Rashtriya Lok Samta Party (RLSP), on the other hand, expressed ignorance over any such decision.
Shiv Sena MP Arvind Sawant said his party was “not on the same page” with the BJP on the issue. “They did not consult us before taking the decision. They only remember the NDA when the presidential and vice-presidential polls are on,” he added.
Blaming the Congress for the near-washout of the second half of the budget session, Kumar had stated on Thursday that 400 MPs of the NDA will forego ₹3.66 crore in salaries. The Sena leader, however, accused the government of causing the Parliament logjam. “We feel that the government did not want the House to function, and the reason behind it is (the upcoming) Karnataka polls,” he said.
Sawant said speaker Sumitra Mahajan did not even use “strong words” to rebuke AIADMK parliamentarians who were agitating for the formation of the Cauvery Water Management Board. “The MPs did their work even if Parliament did not function,” he added.
Union minister Upendra Kushwaha of the RLSP said he was not informed about any such decision. “I am not aware. I do not know,” he told reporters, before adding that all constituents of the NDA will forego their salaries if any such decision was indeed taken.
The second half of the budget session ends on Friday.
