The Nirvik Bureau, Bhubaneswar, 14 December 2025
Teachers can eat ideals, ex-MLAs can eat pensions, and the CM can eat room service. Everyone has their priorities.
The state of Odisha has made history. While other states waste time on trivialities like education, healthcare, and public welfare, Odisha has bravely marched into a bold, visionary future: a record-breaking salary hike for MLAs, the Speaker, and the Chief Minister.
Why invest in classrooms when you can invest in the people who talk about classrooms?
In a move that economists are calling “pathbreaking” and citizens are calling “something else entirely,” the government has ensured that our elected representatives will no longer suffer the indignity of surviving on mere lakhs. Reports suggest their wallets, much like their promises, have now expanded beyond earlier expectations.
People’s Representatives, Representing Themselves
Ordinary people might complain about inflation, rising prices, or unemployment. But have you ever stopped to consider the emotional trauma of an MLA having to fly economy or stay in a normal hotel?
Thankfully, Odisha has. The revised salaries and allowances will ensure that our lawmakers are adequately compensated for the tremendous physical strain of raising their hands in the Assembly and the mental exhaustion of changing parties every few years.
And the generosity does not stop at the present. In a touching tribute to loyalty and long-term memory loss, ex-MLAs will also receive a handsome pension. After all, why should public service end just because the public no longer wants your service?
Teachers on the Road, Leaders on the Rise
On one side, teachers sit in dharna on the streets, demanding their dues and better working conditions. On the other side, the ruling class sits in air-conditioned rooms, demanding better sofas.
Teachers, silly people, still believe they are shaping the nation. They do not understand that the real nation-building happens in salary committees, not in classrooms. If they wanted respect, they should have contested elections instead of correcting notebooks.
The irony is so perfect it almost feels planned: those who teach future citizens camp on the roads; those who design policies for those future citizens are rewarded with upgraded homes, cars, and pensions. Truly, we are a country that knows how to encourage talent—just not the teaching kind.
Capital Comfort, State Expense
The Chief Minister, a true symbol of sacrifice, has taken a bungalow on rent in Delhi. This is, of course, purely for the benefit of the people of Odisha, who sleep better at night knowing their CM is resting comfortably in the capital.
All expenses, naturally, will be borne by the state government of Odisha. After all, why should the CM pay rent from his own elevated salary when there is an entire treasury available? It would be an insult to the spirit of federalism.
One must appreciate the consistency: teachers sit under the open sky; the CM sits in a rented bungalow. Both are technically “on the ground,” just on very different square feet.
A Model for the Nation
Odisha has become the first state to offer such a grand raise to its political class. Other states may soon follow this inspiring model, once they realise that the most urgent crisis in India is not low teacher pay, crumbling schools, or underfunded public services—but the tragic shortage of perks for MLAs and ex-MLAs.
In a democracy, leaders are expected to lead by example. Here, they have done exactly that: showing every citizen that if you want security in life, do not become a teacher. Become a lawmaker, then an ex-lawmaker. The pension is better, and no one will ever ask you to correct exam papers.
