As the social media taunts the huge subsidy to India's parliamentarians in their canteen within the complex, Biju Janata Dal MP Jay Panda on Thursday shot off a letter to Speaker Sumitra Mahajan's office asking for the privilege to be removed to ensure "greater public trust and confidence" in the lawmakers.

"As you would know, recent media attention has focussed on this issue with citizens remarking on the oddity of this privilege," the politician from Odisha writes in his letter to Mahajan. "I am of this opinion as well as believe the removal of the food subsidy for the MPs will be a right step in effecting greater public trust and confidence in our role as lawmakers," he adds.

"The recent efforts by the government to encourage the voluntary giving up of the subsidised cooking gas by those citizens who can afford it, is laudable... In appreciating this logic, I believe that we MPs too should be willing to give up the food subsidy extended to us," Panda writes, referring to the Give It Up campaign launched by the NDA government regarding the LPG subsidy.

Parliamentarians, earning over Rs 1.4 lakh per month with perks, relish items like fried fish with chips at Rs 25, mutton cutlet at Rs 18, oiled vegetables at Rs 5, mutton curry with bone at Rs 20 and masala dosa at Rs 6 with rates subsidised by 63 per cent, 65 per cent, 83 per cent, 67 per cent and 75 per cent, respectively.

The cost for procuring raw items of dish like stew vegetables comes to about Rs 41.25 while the MPs are getting it for Rs 4, which is a subsidy of about 90 per cent. Papad costs Rs 1.98 but sold at Rs 1 in these canteens with a whopping subsidy of 98 per cent.

For the non-vegetarian meal, raw items are procured at Rs 99.05 while the prepared dish is served at Rs 33 to MPs with 66 per cent subsidy, the reply provided to RTI activist Subhash Agrawal shows, adding that the present rates of dishes have not been revised since December 20, 2010.

Others also eat here, says government

Last month, the government had said it was wrong to blame only the lawmakers for enjoying sumptuous meals in the canteen at highly subsidised rates, claiming that bureaucrats and journalists covering Parliament also used the facility. The government response came a day after an RTI query revealed that it got a total subsidy of Rs 60.7 crore during the last five years with items like puri sabzi being sold at 88 per cent subsidised rates.

