Indian lawmakers seek five-fold increase in their salaries

New Delhi: Many Indians cling to the image of a frugal and bare-chested Mahatma Gandhi as the epitome of a politician, even as the burgeoning middle class experiences new wealth and conspicuous consumption.

So when a committee of federal lawmakers submitted a proposal last month seeking a five-fold pay increase, people were shocked.

They bashed the idea in tweets, around the dinner table and on TV. Some even praised the British, whose members of Parliament recently decided to trim their salaries.

Indian lawmakers take home about Rs17,429 (Dh1,379) a month, an amount most say is embarrassingly low. If the raise goes through, they would make about $1,860 (Dh6,826) a month — a little less than the average IT graduate in the big city.

Need for change

"We cannot forever be stuck in Gandhi's image from the freedom movement. In comparison, people think we are all corrupt crooks looting the nation," Sanjay Nirupam, a Congress Party lawmaker from Mumbai, said.

Nirupam wrote a recent article in the Indian Express newspaper arguing for a raise. He calls himself a "professional politician", a near-blasphemous term in India.

"My expenses are enormous. About 200 people come to see me every day. I have to offer them all at least a cup of tea, or they will abuse me and call me a miserly politician," Nirupam said. "Most of Mumbai's politicians own beer bars to supplement their incomes."

Lawmakers' take-home pay might be low, The Times of India said in an editorial, but the perks they enjoy — free housing, health care, power, water and air travel —add up to almost $88,372 annually. Since May, lawmakers have also been exempt from paying tolls on national highways.

Should politicians be allowed a pay increase? Or are they over paid as it is? Should there be mandatory performance measures allocated with a raise?