MLAs who resigned also get Dec. salary

The legislature secretariat has paid the salaries and allowances to all legislators, including those who have submitted their resignations but not withdrawn them, for the month of December 2009.
“No member’s resignation was accepted by the Presiding Officers and notified so far,” the legislature secretariat said.

All told, the legislators get salary and allowances of Rs 43,000, which is deposited into their individual bank accounts.

The TD senior legislator, Mr Erraballi Dayakara Rao, said he had not withdrawn the December salary credited in his account.

“How can I withdraw the amount when I have resigned from the the House,” Mr Rao said.

He said he was planning to ask the legislature secretariat to take back the December salary. “I don’t know how many MLAs have withdrawn their salary. As far as I am concerned, I did not.”

But legislators contacted by this newspaper could not confirm that they had not withdrawn the salary. Some of them contended that since their resignations had not been accepted, they continued to be members of the House.

According to sources, out of 294 MLAs in the House, 219 submitted their resignation letters to the Speaker at different points in time: 142 from coastal Andhra and Rayalaseema regions and 77 from Telangana.

Although most of the MLAs have taken back their resignations, the Speaker is yet to decide on those resignation letters that have not been taken back. The Congress is also trying to get its legislators to withdraw their resignations.