NEW DELHI, March 31: A restoration of the annual discretionary quota of LPG and telephone connections to Lok Sabha members appears to be on the anvil.Lok Sabha members had been deprived of this privilege ever since February 1, 1997 when the then Speaker P A Sangma scrapped it. The quota had been withdrawn following the scandal in discretionary allotments of petrol pumps, LPG agencies and official accommodation.Until then, each Lok Sabha member could recommend 25 telephone and 100 LPG connections a year anywhere in the country.
Rajya Sabha members however continued to enjoy the privilege. When Sangma announced the scrapping of the facility, members of the Upper House protested saying that the Speaker did not have a right to take a decision unilaterally.
Leaders of political parties at an informal meeting with Speaker G M C Balayogi said that the general feeling among Lok Sabha members was that they should also get the facility just as their counterparts in the Upper House.
The MPs' grouse is thatthey are under tremendous pressure from their constituents to get them telephone and LPG connections. The pressure is much more on the Lok Sabha members because they are elected directly by the people unlike Rajya Sabha members.
While there was a consensus among those attended the meeting that the quota should be restored, there were also suggestions that it could be done with some amendments aimed at preventing misuse of the facility. These amendments could also be made applicable to the quota for Rajya Sabha members.
It was also suggested that the number of connections be increased and that the quota should not be released outside in the members' constituencies.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Madanlal Khurana, whose initiative it was to convene the meeting, is likely to have an informal dialogue with the Rajya Sabha Chairman in this regard.
Among those who attended the meeting were Leader of the Opposition Sharad Pawar, Somnath Chatterjee (CPI-M), Geeta Mukherjee (CPI), Ram Vilas Paswan (JD), Ram Naik(BJP), Yerran Naidu (TDP) and Saifuddin Soz (National Conference).
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
