Mumbai: After denying the post of Leader of Opposition to the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA), the ruling Mahayuti has once again sidelined the Opposition by denying protocol status, pay and facilities to its party whips, while approving the same for its own leaders.
Ministerial and MoS status granted only to parties with 10% strength
In a decision issued on Wednesday, the state government accorded ministerial status to chief whips and minister of state (MoS) status to whips in both Houses of the Legislature. However, the government clarified that these benefits would apply only to parties that have at least 10% of the total strength of the House.
This effectively means that none of the Opposition parties will be entitled to the status, monthly honorarium, or facilities. The monthly pay stands at Rs25,000 for chief whips and Rs20,000 for whips.
Ruling alliance whips to enjoy upgraded privileges
As a result, chief whips and whips from the BJP, Shiv Sena and NCP will enjoy the upgraded status, along with office space and telephone facilities during the session period. They will also be provided a personal assistant, stenographer, and peon during sessions, in addition to a vehicle allowance of Rs25,000 for chief whips and Rs20,000 for whips.
From the ruling alliance, those who will enjoy the status, pay and facilities include BJP MLA Randhir Savarkar and MLC Prasad Lad, Shiv Sena MLA Ramesh Bornare and MLC Manisha Kayande, NCP MLAs Chetan Tupe and Shekhar Nikam, along with MLC Vikram Kale.
The state government has also scrapped all previous decisions that had extended certain perks to Chief Whips and Whips from all political parties.
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