Bihar BJP legislators return gifts in protest

In an embarrassment to the Nitish Kumar government for raining gifts on legislators, two senior BJP leaders today returned their gifts given by the Education Department in protest against non-payment of salaries to lakhs of school teachers in Bihar.
While Sushil Modi, former deputy chief minister and the leader of BJP legislature party in both Houses of the state legislature, returned all seven gift items, including the microwave oven at a counter in the legislative council, Mangal Pandey, state unit BJP chief, followed suit by returning the oven.
The former deputy chief minister said he and Pandey had decided to return the gifts to the Education department in protest against non-payment of salaries to lakhs of school teachers for months.

"How can we take gifts from the education department that can't even pay salaries to lakhs of school teachers?" he told reporters.
A number of BJP legislators in the state legislative assembly are also likely to return microwave ovens, party functionaries said.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Ashok Chaudhary defended his department's decision to give microwave ovens costing Rs 11,225 each to 243 legislators and 75 in the legislative council saying that it had been customary for various departments to gift goodies to legislators for the past several decades.

"It has been a long standing practice by various departments to provide gifts to the lawmakers....Some BJP leaders are needlessly making it an issue for the sake of publicity," he told reporters outside the gate of the legislative council.

As far as the salaries of the school teachers were concerned, Chaudhary said the BJP leaders should take up the matter with Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani and ask her to release funds under the Sharv Shiksha Abhiyan (SSA), the centre's flagship scheme for universal education.
(Reop CES12)
Meanwhile, Sushil Kumar Modi has written to the Chief
Minister urging him to take the initiative of convening meeting of business advisory committee in consultation with the Speaker and Chairman of the two houses respectively to put an end to the practice of giving gifts to the legislators.
"There is no justification for giving gifts to the legislators by different departments as a lot of money goes into purchasing those gifts ... These things are not properly utilized by the legislators who distribute it among the party workers and other people for use," he said.

"Under the circumstances, I request you to initiate for convening meeting of business advisory committees for a decision in consultation with the Speaker and Chairman of the two Houses respectively to put an end to the practice of giving gifts to the legislators so that the funds spent on it could be better utilised for development works," Modi said.
The former deputy chief minister said that during the ongoing budget session itself, the legislators have been showered with gifts, including a microwave oven and 6-7 suitcases which he has decided to return in view of pendency of salaries to the school teachers and other pressing problems of the state.

Modi also urged the CM to direct the concerned departments to take back the gifts returned by him and other members.