As on July 21, the Parliament Monsoon session kicked off, PM Modi makes his opening speech, and later the Parliament turns into a glorified waiting room. Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha? Both adjourned.
First till noon, then 2 PM, then 4 PM with no productive conversation. Yeah, right. Day two? Same old story. The Opposition and the Centre are at it again, this time butting heads over when to talk about Operation Sindoor. The Centre wants to pencil it in for a 16-hour chat next week, but the Opposition’s like, “Nope, now or never.”
Do You Know What This Circus Costs?
Every single minute Parliament’s in session, it’s Rs 2.5 lakh out of your pocket. That covers MP salaries, their entourage, security, the whole nine yards. The electricity bills, fancy snacks, transport, upkeep yeah, that tab gets way fatter. One hour? Rs 1.5 crore. That’s all taxpayer dough.
Remember Baijayant Panda? The MP Who Said, “Keep the Cash”
Back in December 2016, Baijayant Jay Panda actually gave back some of his salary because he was sick of the endless time-wasting. That Winter Session? Basically a snooze-fest almost nothing got done. But, hey, Parliament didn’t get the memo. Here we are, 2024, and it’s déjà vu. Rinse and repeat: protest, adjour. This time, it’s Manipur and Operation Sindoor taking center stage.
Parliament’s supposed to meet about 100 days a year. Three main gigs- Budget, Monsoon, Winter. Six hours a day on paper. But with all the shouting matches and walkouts, a chunk of that time just evaporates. In 2016 alone, they wasted almost 90 hours- lost Rs 144 crore in the process. That’s Rs 138 crore down the drain for running the show, and Rs 6 crore just in salaries and perks.
MPs pull in a base salary of Rs 1 lakh a month, but that’s just the tip. Add office allowances, travel, daily session sweeteners, and suddenly you’re looking at a paycheck north of Rs 2.3 lakh a month. Perks? Oh, you want perks? How about Rs 1.5 lakh a year for phone and internet, 34 free flights a year (family included!), first-class train tickets, and either a swanky government bungalow or Rs 2 lakh a month for rent. Not bad for a job where you sometimes just… sit around.
Taxpayers are footing the bill for Parliament to actually do its job—not for endless adjournments and drama. Maybe, just maybe, it’s time to hold these folks accountable. Less shouting, more working. Radical idea, I know.
Swastika Sruti is a Senior Sub Editor at NewsX Digital with 5 years of experience shaping stories that matter. She loves tracking politics- national and global trends, and never misses a chance to dig deeper into policies and developments. Passionate about what’s happening around us, she brings sharp insight and clarity to every piece she works on. When not curating news, she’s busy exploring what’s next in the world of public interest. You can reach her at [swastika.newsx@gmail.com]
