Even economically backward states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh

offer a handsome amount as pension to their former legislators. Also, free medical and travel facilities are given to the ex-MLAs and their spouses as well as accommodation facilities in government guest houses and circuit houses.

Five north-eastern states, including Manipur, Nagaland, Arunachal Pradesh and Tripura, also have this provision for their former legislators. While Manipur and Tripura introduced the pension and other benefit schemes as far back as 1972, UP, Bihar and Haryana introduced it in 1997, Chhattisgarh in 2000, Delhi in 2002 and Nagaland in 2003.

Chhattisgarh, which was formed little over eight years ago, pays a monthly pension of Rs 3,500, besides a monthly medical allowance of Rs 1,500 and free railway coupon worth Rs 40,000 annually.

Considered among the most backward states, Bihar also takes care of its former legislators by paying them a monthly pension of Rs 5,000 apart from railway coupons worth

Rs 63,000 annually and entire medical reimbursement.

But the former lawmakers of Gujarat, the second most industrialised state after Maharashtra, with a GDP matching well with that of Asian economic giants, are the most unfortunate lot. They are not receiving even a pittance, barring subsidised accommodation facility in circuit houses.

This is at a time when Chief Minister Narendra Modi is bragging to convert Ahmedabad into Hong Kong of India and make the state a model to be followed by others in developmental matters.

Over a dozen ex-MLAs are living in an extremely miserable state, as they have no source of income in their old age. The plight of these ex-MLAs can be gauged from the fact that 65-year-old Hansumatiben Gudia, a tribal woman elected as MLA in 1972 from Dahod, rears hens in her native Kanjera village, along the MP border, to eke out a living.

Similarly, 77-year-old Bhikhajibhai Punjabhai Thakor, an MLA from Deesa in 1972, works as a scrap vendor, as he too has no source of income. And 80-year-old Maniklal Tadvi, a former MLA from Pavi Jetpur in Vadodara district, works as a daily wager with a vendor selling used clothes.

At 71, Shankardas Makwana, who represented Sami-Harij constituency in the state assembly for two terms from 1962 to 1972, has now become a priest to earn just enough to feed himself.

Former Minister of State for Health Manabhai Bhambhi used to sell bananas on handcarts for making both ends meet and his family did not have enough to buy a coffin when he died in 1999.

“Even such miseries have not moved the rulers of the state to sanction pension for their ex-legislators,” remarks Shankarlal Guru, a former MLA and president of Ex-MLAs Council of Gujarat, affiliated to the All India Ex-MLAs Council. There are a total of 750 former MLAs in the state, with 450 as council members. Most of them are from the Congress party.

With the government not coming forward to enact a law for pension, Guru has arranged to give an annual monetary assistance of

Rs 5,000 to 12 of the most poor former legislators, with contributions received from some of the wealthy former MLAs, including Pratap Shah, a former minister and editor of Rajkot-based Saurashtra Samachar, who annually donates

Rs 25,000, Sombhai Patel of Surat and Dilip Sanghani, Minister of State for Agriculture in the state government.

According to Guru, the state assembly had in 1986 passed a bill in this regard, but it could not be implemented as the government failed to frame rules to this effect. Assembly Speaker Ashok Bhatt said the pension bill for ex-legislators was withdrawn during the tenure of Suresh Mehta. “After that we made several efforts, but nothing has happened,” said Guru.