Chennai sources have stated that five months after taking over as Chief Minister, E Palaniswami has doubled the salary of the Tamilnadu's 232 legislators. Sources have stated that the hike under which the legislators will get more than Rs 1 lakh from the current Rs 55,000 comes amid a stark agrarian crisis in the state.
It was stated that over the last six months at least nineteen farmers have committed suicide, many of the families have been holding protests in Delhi's Jantar Mantar for months and further the legislators' pension, too, has been increased from Rs 12,000 to Rs 20,000 and the funds allotted to them for the development of their constituencies has also been pushed up from 2 crores to 2.5 crore.
Meanwhile the senior party leader TRB Raja said, "He will spend the hike in his constituency as this is AIADMK’s strategy to keep their flock together". Congress, a DMK ally, has eight legislators in the 232 member House.
