Bhubaneswar, December 19: The Biju Janata Dal, the main opposition force in the State, on Saturday demanded that Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi reconsider the decision of a threefold hike in legislators’ salary and perks in the State.

The development came a day after the ruling BJP MLAs directly urged the Chief Minister to reconsider the recent decision to triple legislators' salaries - from approximately Rs 1.1 lakh to Rs 3.45 lakh per month, amid mounting public backlash.

"We request the Chief Minister to review the bills passed in the Odisha Assembly on December 9, which enhanced salaries and allowances of MLAs, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Ministers and Ministers. People of Odisha opposing such a hike. Our leader and Leader of Opposition Naveen Patnaik has also written to the CM refusing to accept the hiked salary," says BJD MLA and Opposition Chief Whip Pramila Mallik.

Incidentally, not a single MLA, including LoP Naveen Patnaik, opposed the Bill during discussion in the State Assembly though the former CM later wrote a letter to CM Majhi wishing to forego his enhanced salary.

Yesterday, at a BJP Legislature Party Meeting under chairmanship of the Chief Minister, convened exclusively to discuss the issue, a resolution was adopted for reconsideration of the Bill passed unanimously in the Assembly on December 9, approving the steep hike in the legislators’ pay. The Bill is yet to gain the assent of the Governor.

Ministers, MLAs, State party president Manmohan Samal, and organisational leaders, submitted a written representation to the Chief Minister emphasising the need to respect public sentiment and review the salary hike.

For the context, last week, four separate Bills were passed without a single dissenting voice that increased monthly emoluments of MLAs from Rs 1.11 lakh to Rs 3.45 lakh, that of CMs from Rs 98,000 to Rs 3.74 lakh, of Ministers from Rs 97,000 to Rs 3.58 lakh and speakers from Rs 97,500 to Rs 3.68 lakh effective retrospectively from June 2024.