NEW DELHI: Two NDA allies on Thursday said they had not been consulted by the BJP regarding the decision to forgo 23-day salaries and allowances of NDA MPs for the waste of second half of the Budget session due to disruptions.
While the Shiv Sena asserted that it had not been consulted on the decision, Rashtriya Lok Samata Party chief and Union minister Upendra Kushwaha said that he was not aware of such a move. “I am not aware of the decision of the NDA MPs forgoing their salaries and allowances. I am only hearing this from you. Once I am told of the decision, the party will decide,” said Kushwaha.
Sena MP Sanjay Rout too affirmed that his party had not been consulted.
The development came a day after Pradesh chief minister N Chandra Babu Naidu charged the BJP of indulging in one-upmanship with alliance partners Parliamentary Affairs Minister Ananth Kumar had announced the government’s decision.
Later, the PIB too issued a media statement in this regard.
In another indication of the NDA allies not being on the same page with the BJP, Kushwaha said the Dalit agitation was a spontaneous people’s movement even as BJP chief Amit Shah claimed it had been a pattern to fan such protests on the eve of each elections. Kushwaha also demanded a white paper from the Supreme Court on the background of judges, claiming people from humble background don’t make to higher judiciary.
Meanwhile, the Congress dubbed the NDA’s move as a political gimmick. “They may be ready to forego rs 2,000 daily allowance but what about the Rs 2 lakh crore worth loans of corporates waived off by the government,” Congress spokesperson Raj Babbar said.
Not on same page?
On Wednesday, Union minister Ananth Kumar says NDA MPs will forego 23-day salary as Parliament did not function due to Opposition protests
But Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Rout says his party had not been consulted on the decision to forgo salary and allowance
BJP MP Subramanian Swamy also differs with the decision of MPs not claiming their salaries