Your ministers get rewarded with gold biscuits while you battle for life and death with potholes
- People of Bengaluru and across Karnataka are reeling under the heavy rains that have almost brought the state to a standstill
- But this won't stop the state’s legislators from pampering themselves
- Karnataka assembly speaker has made a proposal to gift state legislators gold biscuits on the diamond jubilee celebrations of Vidhana Soudha
FollowPeople of Bengaluru and across Karnataka are reeling under the heavy rains that have almost brought the state to a standstill. Close to six people died in and around Bengaluru on Sunday, October 15, in rain-related incidents.
But will this stop the state’s legislators from pampering themselves? Absolutely not.
Karnataka assembly speaker has made a proposal to gift state legislators gold biscuits on the diamond jubilee celebrations of Vidhana Soudha.
The proposal sent to the finance department consisted a plan for expenditure of Rs 26.87 crore to gift MLAs and MLCs expensive gifts. The speaker proposed that the legislators get a 13-gram gold biscuit worth Rs 55,000 each which will be embossed with the state emblem along with a miniature model of Vidhana Soudha.
The proposal also suggested that the secretariat staff, comprising both the Upper and Lower Houses, get silver plates worth about Rs 6,000 each.
While speaking to India Today, speaker KB Koliwad said that he had indeed sent the proposal to the finance department and it is pending with the Chief Minister.
All this while you pray to the gods in heaven that you and your loved ones can travel safely when you step out. The rains have exposed the shoddy condition of the city’s streets and the crater-sized potholes have already claimed five lives in the last two weeks.
It is also surprising that a man of such position could suggest something at this moment of crisis. The Rs 26.87 crore can easily be used to fix roads and the stormwater drains to avoid any further mishaps. But the ruling class would probably not want to miss laughing at out misery.
The amount proposed can also be used to pay compensation to the families of the victims who died in the rain-related incidents. But even that would probably not be good enough for Mr Speaker. The families need to wait for close to a year after all until they are given the money.
And so while you continue to watch every step when you walk out of your home, these ministers, most of whom were not even born when the Vidhana Soudha was built, will probably make good use of the expensive gifts they receive on the diamond jubilee celebrations.
