Cong MLAs quit, retain facilities

Chandigarh : About three weeks after resigning en masse over the SYL issue, the 42 Congress MLAs are yet to give up the facilities they are entitled to as members of the Legislative Assembly.
Besides government accommodation, an MLA gets a government vehicle, security, personal staff, fuel, salary and various allowances. On November 10, soon after the Supreme Court verdict on the SYL row, Amritsar MP Capt Amarinder Singh and all party MLAs had sent their resignations to the Lok Sabha Speaker and the Assembly Speaker, respectively.
Vidhan Sabha Secretary Shashi Lakhanpal Mishra said the legislators’ resignations were yet to be accepted, while confirming that the Vidhan Sabha had so far not received a communication from any of them regarding giving up the facilities. “But they can have the entitlements as long as their resignations are not accepted,” she added.
When contacted, Leader of the Opposition Charanjit Singh Channi said he was not putting up at the official residence given to him in his capacity as the CLP Leader. He added that he had refused to take the official car due to its poor condition. On security, Channi said he had written to the government to withdraw it, but to no avail.
On whether he would ask his party’s MLAs to surrender the facilities, he said he would discuss the matter with Amarinder.Independent legislator Simarjit Singh Bains, who had resigned along with his brother Balwinder Singh Bains on November 14, said he had submitted a letter to the Speaker, stating that he was surrendering all facilities an MLA was entitled to. “But the Speaker said he would consider the letter only after accepting my resignation,” he said.