'Cheques' and balances

Shall we corporatise our polity? Can our MPs then learn corporate etiquette, now that they have arm-twisted the government into handing them fatter pay cheques?
The MPs are now officially and legally a well-paid lot. The Cabinet approval of a 300 per cent hike closely followed by another hike in the already revised constituency and office allowances to Rs 25,000 will now be denting the exchequer of over Rs150 crore. Their take home, or to use a corporate jargon, CTC, includes Rs 50,000 salary, daily allowance of Rs 2,000, constituency allowance of Rs 45,000 and office allowance of Rs 45,000. However, the bungalows in Lutyens Delhi or the free air and train travel are beyond the purview of the CTC.
The second increase in the constituency allowance was when a dissatisfied Laloo Prasad Yadav and Mulayam Singh Yadav clamoured for more. And in their quest for a pay hike, they stalled the proceedings in the Lok Sabha last week. Obviously, they felt the Cabinet must have followed the House panel’s recommendation of a five-fold hike to Rs 80,001. The ruling party had to keep in mind the stubborn price rise, hitting consumers. A large, blatant pay hike would not have gone down well among voters.
But let us try to look at the sunny side. We are suddenly thinking about spiraling prices when it comes to paying our MPs. We do not think twice about throwing obscene amount of money into the Commonwealth Games. Or the innumerable official `dos’ that eat into our coffers. Or the extensive use of official vehicles, in the name of security. Or the “official” frequent flier miles they gather. These are anyway the perks that come with power.
It is nice to argue that the pay hike might encourage young talent into politics. It might streamline the process of entry into politics, irrespective of the dynamics of dynasties and godfathers.
Second, it might try and teach a lesson or two on morality and ethics to our political leaders. A full stomach will never ask for more food. There is, however, a fundamental difference between food and money. You can stuff food and fall sick, but you can never stuff wads of notes and fall sick.
Probably, we can justify this hike by involving a few corporate mechanisms. There could be an annual, foolproof performance appraisal system for MPs. Then there could be a strong, apolitical vigilance system that could rap the MPs on their knuckles whenever their long arms dip their hands into dirty money. If the government is parting with a significant amount of the tax payers’ money, it better be responsible for the accounting.