Campaign against committee allowance violates privileges, say MPs
05 Oct 2011, 9:13 PM
Parliament today debated a motion proposed by Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed claiming that a civic action campaign against controversial Rf20,000-a-month committee allowances approved last year violated MPs’ special privileges.
Presenting the motion without notice, Riyaz Rasheed, the sole Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) representative in parliament, contended that the campaign by the group of concerned citizens was intended to bring MPs into disrepute and undermine MPs’ honour and dignity.
Riyaz said he proposed the motion in protest of the activities against the committee allowance because “no one has said anything while they’re putting up pictures of MPs all over Male’.”
A loose association of concerned citizens and members of local NGOs launched a campaign in late August after parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) decided to issue a lump sum of Rf140,000 (US$9,000) as committee allowance back pay for January through July this year.
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