For the last time on Friday, the parliamentarians decided their salary and allowances themselves as in future the responsibility will be bestowed on an independent permanent mechanism to decide their raise.

Piloting a Bill in the Lok Sabha to increase the MPs' salary, allowances, pension and facilities, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal announced the Union Cabinet's decision in principle to have a permanent agency to decide these in future in a transparent manner, ending public criticism that the MPs hike own wages as and when they want.

He, however, wriggled out when BJP veteran Lal Krishna Advani wanted the mechanism spelled out before parliament's extended monsoon session ends on Tuesday.

Bansal's contention to finalise modalities and composition of the agency in consultation with all parties and with the parliamentary committee on salary and allowances got retort from Advani that it took four years for the government to act on a recommendation of a meeting chaired by then Speaker Somnath Chatterjee and still government wants more consultation. Creation of mechanism is not a complicated matter, Advani affirmed.

Bansal, however, politely rejected his demand to have the agency in place by Tuesday, pointing out that wide-ranging consultations were necessary as it will be a departure from the mechanism in place since 1954 and requires proper care on deciding who will sit in judgement on the MPs' salary and allowances in future.

The Left members staged a walk-out in protest of the House proceeding to discuss and decide the MPs' salary and allowances, after repeatedly insisting to put of the Bill pending formation of the proposed mechanism to decide the matter.

The House passed the Bill by a voice vote after a brief discussion increasing the monthly salary of a MP from Rs 16,000 to Rs 50,000, constituency and office secretarial allowance from Rs 20,000 to Rs 45,000 respectively and daily allowance from Rs 1000 to Rs 2000, besides pension up from Rs 8,000 to Rs 20,000, plus Rs 800 for every year beyond five years in parliament. The Bill has to be passed by the Rajya Sabha on Monday or Tuesday before the MPs start getting the hiked emoluments.

The Rashtriya Janata Dal's Raghuvansh Prasad, a former minister, moved an amendment to fix the pension at Rs 25,000 a month as he said it was earlier also 50 per cent of the salary. It was, however, rejected by a voice vote after he refused the Parliamentary Affairs Minister's plea to leave the matter for decision by the proposed new mechanism.

The Bill provides for retrospective payment of salary and daily allowance from May 18, 2009 which will yield an MP the arrears of around Rs 6.60 lakhs. The office allowance of Rs 45,000 a month is also with a rider that Rs 28,000 will have to be paid to the office staff to be engaged by the MP.

Other benefits included in the Bill in tune with the recommendation of a parliamentary committee on salary and allowances are the road mileage allowance increased from Rs 13 to Rs 16 a km, advance for buying car raised from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 4 lakh, with interest rate as applicable to the government employees, and allowing spouse to travel by train in First Class A/C alone between hometown and Delhi instead of presently permitted only when travelling with the MP.

Congress member Sanjay Nirupam suggested that the Election Commission be given the authority to decide the MPs' salary and allowances. He also advocated enforcement of "no work, no salary" principle, suggesting that the MPs should not draw daily allowance on the days they force adjournment of the House without transacting business and monthly salary to only those attending the House for more than 50 per cent sittings.

He as well as some other members suggested that they will better forego the office secretarial allowance if the government provides them the staff, including researchers, alike the ministers to assist them in performing their responsibility in parliament.