Agartala, Sep 3 (Inditop.com) A bill was passed in the Tripura assembly Thursday increasing the salary of ministers and legislators by 35 percent.

The salaries and allowances of the chief minister, ministers, opposition leaders and legislators and pension of the former members of the legislative assembly will be increased by 35 percent.

Tripura Parliamentary Affairs Minister Tapan Chakraborty said: “Salaries of the chief minister would be increased from 9,200 to Rs 12,500. Salaries of the speaker, ministers, chief whip and leader of opposition would be increased from Rs.9,000 to Rs.12,300 while that of the legislators would go up from Rs.8,500 to Rs.11,500.”

The salary of the deputy speaker and minister of state would go up from from Rs.8,700 to Rs.12,000.

A former legislator would now get the pension of Rs.8,100 per month instead of Rs.6,000.

Various allowances of the chief minister, ministers, opposition leader, chief whip and legislators have been increased by 35 percent.

“It is true that the Tripura chief minister, ministers and legislators are getting the lowest salary in India,” Chakraborty said.

The opposition Congress and Indigenous Nationalist Party of Tripura (INPT) members have demanded an additional increase in their salaries and allowances.

Members of the ruling Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) and the Communist Party of India (CPI) made it clear that they were opposed to the increase (of their salaries and allowances) in principle.