Bengaluru, 21 Mar

The Karnataka Assembly on Friday passed bills approving a 100 per cent salary hike for the Chief Minister, Ministers, and all legislators, which will cost the exchequer Rs 62 crore annually.

The Karnataka Ministers Salaries and Allowance (Amendment) Bill and the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2025 were passed amid chaos, without any discussion, as the opposition BJP protested against the 4 per cent reservation for Muslims in public contracts and demanded a judicial probe into an alleged "honey-trap" attempt involving a minister.

As per the Karnataka Ministers' Salaries and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, the Chief Minister's monthly salary will double from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.5 lakh, while ministers' salaries will increase by 108 per cent from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh.

The Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill, 2025 raises the monthly salaries of MLAs and MLCs from Rs 40,000 to Rs 80,000, while their pensions will increase from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000.

The monthly salary of the Assembly Speaker and Legislative Council Chairperson will also be revised from Rs 75,000 to Rs 1.25 lakh.

"There has been a considerable increase in the cost of living. The salaries and allowances of the CM, ministers, ministers of state, and deputy ministers have not been revised for a long time," the Minister's Salaries and Allowance (Amendment) Bill stated, adding that the proposed measure will lead to an additional recurring expenditure of approximately Rs 10 crore per year.

Similarly, citing the "considerable increase in the cost of living," the Karnataka Legislature Salaries, Pensions and Allowances (Amendment) Bill justified the hike in salaries and allowances of parliamentary functionaries and legislators, estimating an additional recurring expenditure of Rs 52 crore annually.

As per the bill, the Leader of the Opposition's salary will increase from Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000, while the Deputy Chairman and Deputy Speaker will also see a hike from Rs 60,000 to Rs 80,000.

The salaries of the Government Chief Whip and Opposition Chief Whip will rise from Rs 50,000 to Rs 70,000.