The average cost to the taxpayer for supporting India’s 543 Members of Parliament (MPs) entitled to highly subsidised housing in luxurious bungalows, unlimited free air and rail travel, life-long pensions, VIP security, chauffeur-driven cars, fuel allowance, office expense budgets, constituency allowance, priority access at airports, is estimated at Rs.1,070 crore per year. For supporting MLAs of the country’s 29 states and eight Union territories, the cost to the taxpayer is only marginally less. Against this, the per capita income of India is $2,600 (Rs.2.34 lakh).

In consideration, MPs and MLAs are obliged to legislate laws to govern the country after reasoned deliberation and debate. However during the last monsoon session of Parliament (July 21-August 21), two-thirds of parliamentary time was lost because of disruptive and unruly behaviour of MPs. Every minute of scheduled parliamentary time lost costs taxpayers Rs.2.5 lakh.

On November 20, Maharashtra’s BJP-Shiv Sena government issued a government resolution (GR) directing all public officials to “stand and greet” MPs and MLAs, “listen attentively to their concerns, and speak politely to them on the phone”. Further, the GR requires public officials to maintain courtesy registers, ensure two-month response deadlines, arrange fixed meetings every first and third Thursday with MPs and MLAs, and extend invitations to them to important district events. Failure to observe these proprieties and niceties will result in disciplinary action for non-compliance, says the GR.

Such absurd deference demanded by MPs & MLAs is pervasive. On November 21, the Punjab & Haryana high court passed strictures against the Haryana government for issuing a show-cause notice to a government doctor for not springing to his feet when an MLA visited his hospital.

The Constitution of India says that MPs and MLAs are public servants. Evidently, this privileged unaccountable gentry has a different interpretation of this master-servant relationship.