One one hand, while the Centre says its budget is groaning under huge subsidy towards diesel,LPG, fertilizers, whatnot, the government is fully subsidizing our netas elected by the people themselves as members of parliament.
The subsidies involve telephone calls, air and rail fares, housing, water, electricity, personal assistants, DA, TA, the lot. An average MP gets a salary of Rs 80,000, taxfree.
But first let’s have a look at the Parliament Canteen menu, where our MPs regularly have breakfast, lunch and dinners.
The canteen serves breakfast, lunch and dinner at subsidized rates not only to MPs, but also to Parliament staff, security personnel and accredited journalists.
Breakfast:
Veg Sandwich – Rs 12 per plate
Bread Butter. – Rs 5 per plate
Cheese sandwich – Rs 16 per plate
Upma. – Rs 8 per plate
Kesari Halwa. – Rs 10 per plate
Idli. – Rs 8 per plate
Vada. – Rs 4 per plate
Coffee/Tea. – Rs 2 per cup
Lunch:
Veg Thali. – Rs 18 (4 chapati, rice, dal, dahi, veg, salad, papad)
Chicken Biryani. – Rs 51 per plate
Chicken Masala. – Rs 37 per plate
Paneer Masala – Rs 20 per plate
Roti. – Re 1 each
Rice – Rs 6 per plate
Vegetables – Rs 6 per plate
Dal – Rs 2 per plate
Arhar Dal, sold at nearly Rs 100 per kg in market, costs just Rs.2 for a katori.
The gap between the actual cost and what MPs, journalists and others have to pay, is bridged with a food budget set aside by parliament.
“Over Rs.5.3 crore has been allocated during the current financial year for the canteens. The Lok Sabha pays some Rs.3.55 crore and the Rajya Sabha shares the amount to over Rs.1.77 crore,” said an official several years ago.
“Not only MPs, we serve food to everybody who is allowed inside parliament. They also include workers, gardeners and labourers,” the official said, defending the low prices.
There are 10 canteens in the Parliament complex, whose annual food bill comes to over Rs 8 crore.
——Courtesy: India Tv