M A I N   N E W S

Sitting, ex-MPs owe Rs 7 cr in phone bills
* Six sitting law-makers, 399 MPs on 10-page defaulter list
* RS ex-MP Janardhan Yadav on top with Rs 22 lakh dues
Vibha Sharma/TNS

New Delhi, November 23
Parliamentarians, who can be role models for countrymen by espousing good values, can at times be the worst violators of rules and regulations, taking undue advantage of their powerful posts and position.

An application by RTI activist Subhash Chandra Aggarwal reveals a long list of law-making MPs with mammoth telephone bills running into thousands, and even lakhs, pending against their names.

Running into 10 pages, the list includes six sitting Parliamentarians and 399 MPs. Their total outstanding telephone bills: Over Rs 7 crore! Aggarwal says that the phone dues of the Parliamentarians are over and above the free calls allowed to them. It is unclear how Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Limited (MTNL) will recover the huge sum.

Rajya Sabha former member Janardhan Yadav tops the list, creating a record of sorts by defaulting on MTNL bills in excess of Rs 22 lakh. Around Rs 19 lakh is outstanding against present-day MPs like GV Harsaha Kumar, Bhakta Charan Das, M Krishna Swamy, Harsh Vardhan and Narendra Budhania of Congress and Ram Chander Das of the JD(U).

Among the defaulters are 50 individuals who are no longer in this world apart from many who have not contested an election in recent times.

As per rules, all government bills are automatically deducted from the salary and pension of present and former Parliamentarians. Clearly, the rule is not being followed as well as it should be. Therefore, activists say that a no-dues certificate should be mandatory before a contestant files his papers for any election.

“As it happens in the case of ordinary citizens, services like telephone, water and electricity should be disconnected if an MP defaults. Likewise, government accommodation should be vacated within a month of losing the entitlement for it,” says Aggarwal.