New Delhi,  After the Union cabinet decided to reduce allowances of members of Parliament by 30 per cent for one year, Congress leader Ahmed Patel welcomed the step and said in difficult times it was necessary.

"As a Member of Parliament, I welcome the government decision to cut salaries of MPs. In this difficult time, this is the least we can do to help fellow citizens," Patel tweeted.

The cabinet approved an ordinance amending the Salary, Allowances and Pension of Members of Parliament Act, 1954, reducing allowances and pension by 30 per cent for a year from April 1, 2020.

The Congress leader said the government should also scrap the central vista project to save money. "Apart from cutting salaries of MPs and Ministers, the central government can save more than Rs 20,000 crore by scrapping the central vista redevelopment project & cutting down on non-Covid-19 publicity expenses," Patel tweeted.

The Cabinet also approved temporary suspension of MPLADS for 2020-21 and 2021-22 to manage the adverse impact of the Covid-19 outbreak in the country.

The President, the Vice-President and the Governors have also voluntarily decided to take a pay cut.