The Hindu : National : Relax MPLADS rules to help Bihar: Rajnath

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Relax MPLADS rules to help Bihar: Rajnath

Neena Vyas

NEW DELHI: Bharatiya Janata Party president Rajnath Singh on Tuesday urged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to relax rules of the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) to enable MPs to help Bihar in relief and rehabilitation.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Mr. Singh said that one-time exemptions were given during the Gujarat earthquake and the tsunami.

The MPLADS rules required a Lok Sabha member to spend the funds only in his constituency while the Rajya Sabha member could spend the money in the State from where he was elected to the Upper House.

Mr. Rajnath said the gravity of the Bihar floods was such that the exemption was needed immediately. Each MP could utilise Rs. 2 crore on works in his constituency each fiscal year.

BJP spokesman Ravi Shankar Prasad, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Bihar, said he would donate Rs. 25 lakh from the MPLADS fund to the Bihar Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.

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