September 18, 2020: The bills to reduce salaries, allowances of Members of Parliament, and Ministers by 30 percent was passed unanimously in the Rajya Sabha on Friday.

Earlier, Union Ministers G Kishan Reddy and Pralhad Joshi had moved the Salaries and Allowances of Ministers (Amendment) Bill, 2020 and the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament (Amendment) Bill, 2020 in the Rajya Sabha.

Speaking in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister of State (MoS) Home Affairs said that he was moving the Bill on behalf of Union Home Minister Amit Shah.

While MPs from Congress, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), and other parties wholeheartedly supported the bill, they asked the Centre to restore the MPLADS Funds at the earliest.

The MPs said that the MPLADS Funds are used by them to help the public in their constituencies and will be of great use during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Earlier, AIADMK MP A Vijayakumar and BJD MP Prasanna Acharya had also demanded that the government release their arrears of the MPLADS funds for previous years.

The Monsoon session of the Parliament which began on Monday is slated to conclude on October 1.