Govt mulling ''No work, no pay'' to MPs, says Minister; quickly denies

Varanasi/New Delhi, Aug 2

Amid disruptions and repeated adjournments in the Parliament over the Lalit Modi controversy and the Vyapam scam, Union Minister Mahesh Sharma said the Central Government was considering extending the 'no work, no pay' policy to parliamentarians, although he later denied having made any such suggestion. The policy is thus far applied only to bureaucrats.

Speaking to reporters at Varanasi on Saturday, Sharma, the Minister for Tourism and Culture, said bureaucrats have suggested the policy be extended to MPs also.

He also went on to say that the government was consulting the Opposition on the subject.

"There is a planning for it. Our government is trying and our senior ministers are in touch with the opposition. There is an effort to reach a consensus before such a tough decision is taken," he said.

His statement came in reply to whether the Central Government planned to extend the policy to parliamentarians given the disruptions that Parliament has been witnessing in the ongoing Monsoon Session.

The Opposition immediately wanted Sharma to clarify if the view expressed was that of the Central Government or his own.

Sharma’s statement disclaiming the comment came soon after.

"I still want to see what I had said. ... It is definitely not my statement. … I just want to see that," he said, adding: "I am not authorised to speak on the issue. I am not the competent person. … I think this will be a matter of our Speaker and our senior ministers to discuss".

Parliament has been witnessing the scenes of bedlam since the session began on July 21, with both Central Government and Opposition refused to stand down over the two raging controversies.

The Opposition has been calling for three of its key leaders — External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan — to resign: the first two over their alleged involvement in the helping former IPL Commissioner Lalit Modi to resign while the third over the multic-crore Vyapam scam. The Central Government, on the other hand, has so far been steadfastly refusing to heed, saying only that they were willing to have a debate in the Parliament.

Cong attacks govt over policy

A furious Congress hit back at Union Minister Mahesh Sharma for his suggestion of extending the policy to MPs, which the party saw as Central Government’s attempt to blame the Congress for the current logjam in the Parliament.

"We (Congress MPs) are working. We have standing committee meetings. I have a select committee meeting on land tomorrow (on Monday) and also a standing committee meeting on health. Therefore, it is wrong to say MPs are not working. MPs are working hard," Congress spokesperson Jairam Ramesh said.    

The BJP, meanwhile, dismissed claims that it was considering such a policy, although they added they were willing to discuss it with the Opposition.

"Government would not mind discussion on 'no work no pay' issue. But as of now there is no such matter before the government," Union Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here.

Ramesh, meanwhile, blamed the impasse on the Central Government.

"We are not alone in Parliament. We are being supported by the Left parties, JD-U and several others," Ramesh said. "Questions were raised for how may days we can run it (our demand) but from day one we are saying resignation first and discussion later," he added.

He also attacked the BJP by saying that the party stated Parliamentary disruption is a "legitimate tactic" five years ago. —  PTI