Odisha Legislators' Salary Hike Faces Backlash

The government of Odisha recently passed laws to increase the salaries of its lawmakers (MLAs) and other officials by three times.

This means their monthly pay would go from 1 lakh rupees to 3.45 lakh rupees, which would be the highest in the country.

However, many people, including some BJP members and the opposition BJD, are upset about this big increase.

They think it's too much money, especially since the government is still new and there are other important things to spend money on.

The BJP MLAs and BJD have asked the Chief Minister to reconsider this decision.

Even the Leader of Opposition, Naveen Patnaik, said he won't take the extra money and wants it to be used to help poor people instead.

The bills have not yet been approved by the Governor.

The public is especially upset about the allowances for newspapers, electricity, telephone, and medical expenses, which they think are too high.