The Fact News Service
Chandigarh, April ,16
BJP leader Nayab Singh Saini who is also a member (MP) of the current 17th Lok Sabha from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat of the state since May, 2019 and was sworn in as Haryana Chief Minister on March 12 last month is entitled to receive full salary and allowances both as Chief Minister and Member of Parliament, said Hemant Kumar, Advocate in Punjab and Haryana High Court. "Since Nayab Saini has not resigned from the membership of the present 17th Lok Sabha even after more than a month has passed since taking over as the Chief Minister, he is entitled to receive full salary and allowances as an MP. Member of the present 14th Legislative Assembly of Haryana i.e. not an MLA and has been made party candidate by the BJP in the Karnal Assembly seat by-election scheduled for 25th May next month, but even before getting elected as an MLA, Naib is getting full salary and allowances as the Chief Minister of the state (Election Is legally eligible to receive (except area allowance and telephone allowance)," said Hemant Kumar. Hemant said that as far as the salary and allowances (except constituency allowance and telephone allowance) received by the Chief Minister of Haryana and ministers (both cabinet ministers and ministers of state) are concerned, they should be made applicable to the members of the state assembly i.e. MLAs. "These are not provided by the Assembly Secretariat under the provisions of the Haryana Assembly Members (Salary, Allowances and Pension) Act, 1975, but by the State Government under the provisions of the Haryana Ministers Salary and Allowances Act, 1970. As far as constituency allowance and telephone allowance are concerned, the same is provided to the Chief Minister and Ministers by the Assembly Secretariat on the lines of MLAs," he added. "Thus in Haryana, if a non-MLA is appointed as the Chief Minister or a Minister, then of course he is legally required to be elected as a member (MLA) of the State Assembly within a period of 6 months from his appointment, but as far as such non-MLA is -If the MLA is subject to the salary and allowances received by the Chief Minister or the Minister (except the two allowances mentioned above), then he will receive the same even before being elected as MLA. Apart from this, he is also given allowance for government accommodation or fixed allowance in lieu thereof, conveyance allowance for government vehicle or in lieu thereof and office expenses in the constituency. Not only this, income tax on both the salary and allowances received by every Chief Minister and every Minister is also paid from the treasury of the state government," Advocate added.
However, Hemant said that since Chief Minister Nayab Singh is not currently a member of the 14th Haryana Assembly, he will not receive constituency allowance and telephone allowance from the Haryana Assembly Secretariat and office expenses in the constituency from the state government because as of today, No assembly constituency is his constituency. However, if he becomes MLA by winning the by-election on Karnal Assembly seat scheduled on May 25, he will start getting constituency and telephone allowance from the Assembly Secretariat and also office expenses in that area.
When asked whether there is any legal hurdle in Nayab Saini receiving salary and other allowances as a result of being the MP from Kurukshetra Lok Sabha seat along with the salary and other allowances received as the Chief Minister of the state despite being a non-MLA, Hemant said that since neither the Parliament of the country nor any law made by the Haryana Assembly has made such a provision that if a sitting MP is appointed the Chief Minister of a state and before resigning as an MP, that MP and the Chief Minister Chief Minister Nayab Saini cannot take the salary of both the posts, hence at present the Chief Minister Nayab Saini till 16th June 2024 i.e. the normal tenure of the present 17th Lok Sabha or till the earlier date when due to the formation of the 18th Lok Sabha, the previous 17th Lok Sabha will be replaced by 5th June or after. On any day he is dissolved, he can continue to receive his salary and allowances as an MP, even if he is simultaneously receiving salary and allowances as the Chief Minister of Haryana. However, Hemant told that if a person is getting pension as a former MP and during that time he gets elected as a member of the State Assembly i.e. MLA, then he does not get pension as a former MP till the completion of the tenure of the MLA
