Bulgaria Froze MPs’ Salaries; Could India Ever Do the Same?

This country is roughly the size of Telangana, and its population is almost equal to India’s Himachal Pradesh. But this country has done something that neither India nor any other state has been able to do, or rather, something that is not even on anyone’s agenda.

Now, it sounds quite surprising, but the MPs of this country, keeping public interest in mind, voted to freeze their own salaries instead of increasing them. With this decision, the system came to an end under which the salaries of MPs there used to be recalculated every three months. And the country that has done all this is Bulgaria.

Under the new agreement, 193 MPs in Bulgaria’s Parliament recently unanimously voted in favor of freezing their salaries, and now the basic salary of MPs will remain fixed at three times the average public sector wage of March 2026.

But here is one very interesting point -- population of Bulgaria is equal to Himachal Pradesh and MPs of Bulgaria voted to freeze their own salaries. On the other hand, the Himachal Pradesh government, which has long been running under a financial deficit, increased the salaries and allowances of its MLAs by nearly 24% in 2025.

It is worth mentioning that during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Parliament in India passed a law under which MPs’ salaries were reduced by 30% for one year. This cut also applied to all MPs, ministers, and even the Prime Minister.

But can this ever be possible in India that under normal circumstances politicians would unanimously decide to freeze their regular increase of salaries ?

Comments

Marathi Language Row in Maharashtra: A Divide-and-Rule Plank That Unites Uddhav & Raj, Rattles BJP Amid Fears of Losing Marathi Asmita Votebank

The Marathi language row in Maharashtra has reignited political tensions, communal anxieties, and regional identity issues — all against the backdrop of the upcoming BMC elections and a sensitive linguistic landscape. The row started after a shocking incident in Bhayander, Thane, where a food stall owner was beaten by activists allegedly linked to the Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) for not speaking in Marathi. A video of the attack went viral, showing the accused, wearing MNS scarves, confronted the vendor and slapped him after he responded in Hindi. The FIR, registered under sections of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, mentioned ''unidentified persons'', and despite the viral video, the accused were released on bail within hours since the charges were non-cognizable. MNS workers have also been putting pressure on businesses and banks to use Marathi in signage and transactions. The controversy escalated further when Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former MP R...

A Tale of Two Travelers: How Outsiders Revealed the India Many Fail to See

Amid widespread negative narratives about India, though many narratives are far from reality, stories of real kindness by Indians often get overlooked. But two recent accounts from foreign travelers present a heartfelt and authentic perspective. The first story comes from a young woman traveling through India, a citizen of Australia, who arrived with far more warnings than expectations. Friends had cautioned her repeatedly, online voices had amplified negative portrayals, and the global narrative had painted India as a place that required constant vigilance. But the moment she began exploring the country on her own terms, her experience diverged sharply from what she had been told. Walking through streets at night, interacting with locals, navigating public spaces, and immersing herself in ordinary Indian life, she found warmth, friendliness, and genuine curiosity everywhere she went. Strangers offered help without hesitation, people treated her with respect and openness, and not ...

Dangal Ban in Pakistan: Weeks After Aamir Khan Reveals Why Film Wasn't Released, Pakistani Minister Regrets Her Decision

In a rare moment of cross-border corroboration, Bollywood superstar Aamir Khan and Pakistani minister Maryam Aurangzeb have found themselves telling the same story -- almost at the same time eight years later. Just weeks after, Aamir Khan shared on 'Aap Ki Adalat' show that he refused to release Dangal in Pakistan due to demands raised by Pakistan to remove certain parts of the movie which showed the Indian flag and singing of the national anthem. Pakistan the then Federal Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb has now publicly admitted that banning the film during her tenure as Pakistan’s Information Minister was a mistake and even when she hadn’t seen the film at the time. Maryam Aurangzeb, a senior leader of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) and current minister in Punjab, confessed that banning Dangal as Federal Information Minister in 2017 was one of her biggest regrets. ''Yes, if there is one regret that I have when I was the Federal Information Minister, i...

Reeling Tales

Search This Blog