Former CM Naveen Patnaik announces to forgo his hiked salary

Leader of the Opposition and former Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik has announced that he will forgo his salary and allowances. The decision came after the Odisha Legislative Assembly passed a bill hiking the salaries of MLAs and ministers by over 200% — among the highest remunerations for elected representatives in the country.

In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, Mr. Patnaik said, “I have been blessed by the love, affection and support of the people of Odisha for the past more than 25 years. I am highly indebted to the people of Odisha and their love towards me and my late father Biju Patnaik. In the year 2015 our family decided to donate its ancestral property ‘Anand Bhawan’ in Cuttack to be put for use by the people of Odisha.”

“In the same spirit, I would like to forgo the salary and allowances hiked for Leader of Opposition which the Odisha Legislative Assembly has recently passed. I would like to request you to utilize the same for the welfare of poor people of our State,” he said.

The State Assembly passed a bill tripling the monthly salary of the Chief Minister, Ministers, and MLAs, besides hiking pension of former legislators by threefold. Moreover, the provisions of the Bill, passed on Tuesday evening, would be retrospectively implemented from June 5, 2024.

After revision, the CM will draw ₹3.74 lakh per month while the Deputy Chief Minister’s revised monthly salary stands at ₹3.68 lakh. The Cabinet Ministers will receive ₹3.62 lakh while Ministers of State would draw ₹3.56 lakh. Since Leader of Opposition is treated in the rank of cabinet minister, his remuneration was fixed at ₹3.62 lakh per month. Under the revised pay structure, an MLA will draw ₹3.45 lakh per month against the ₹1.10 lakh in 2017.

Even though Mr. Patnaik declared to forgo the hiked salary, his party did not voice any dissent when the bill was tabled for discussion and passed in the assembly on December 9, 2025. Only Laxman Munda, lone CPI (M) MLA in 147-member House, was not in favour of steep hike in salary.

Later, CPI(M) in a statement had strongly opposed the passage of ‘The Odisha Legislative Assembly Members’ Salary, Allowances and Pension (Amendment) Bill – 2025’ stating it was brought for discussion without prior consultation.

“When workers, employees, teachers, scheme workers, nurses, agricultural labourers, and all sections of the working masses are going through untold misery, earning extremely low wages, and when lakhs of people remain unemployed and when the government refuses to address their legitimate demands, the steep increase in salary, pension, and allowances of MLAs and former MLAs is unjust, irrational, and anti-people,” Suresh Chandra Panigrahy, CPI (M) Secretary, said.

Civil society members too opposed the steep hike in salary of MLAs and Ministers. “The threefold increase in the salaries and pensions of MLAs is a grave betrayal of the poor and ordinary citizens of the State. Moreover, public representatives who had won both MLA and MP seats are currently drawing two pensions simultaneously.  Such irrational and unequal pension arrangements are ethically unacceptable and morally unjustifiable, he asserted,” said President of Lokshakti Abhiyan, Prafulla Samantara.