Highest Paid Worker, Yet Pay 55% of Salary as Income Tax, Says Prez Kovind; Last Leg of His UP Visit Today

The President is the country’s highest paid employee but he also pays tax, said Ram Nath Kovind, specifying that he also pays almost 55% of his monthly salary as income tax. While on a visit to his village in UP’s Kanpur Dehat, he also urged people to pay taxes to boost development work.

“Everyone knows – and there is nothing wrong about it – that the President is the country’s highest-paid employee. But he too pays tax. I pay Rs 2.75 lakh as tax per month. Everyone says I get Rs 5 lakh a month, but it is taxed too. Now, how much does that leave me with? Our officials earn more than what I save. Teachers earn the most,” he was quoted as saying by Times of India.

The President further explained what damaging public property means for a commoner. “Sometimes in anger if say a train is not stopping at a particular railway station, we stop it forcibly, we even set it on fire. If a train is set on fire who loses? People say it is government property. It is the taxpayer’s money,” Kovind said, adding that his example is only to illustrate that these taxes lead to development. “So whose loss is it? Yours and mine,” he further said.

Kovind is on a visit to his village in Uttar Pradesh, where he was seen touching the soil and bowing after landing at the helipad. The emotional gesture was captured in pictures and tweeted by Rashtrapati Bhavan.

Tuesday is the last leg of his five-day tour. President Kovind is scheduled to reach Lok Bhawan from Raj Bhavan at 11.30 am today where chief minister Yogi Adityanath will virtually lay the foundation stone of the Bharat Ratna Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar Memorial and Cultural Center to be built in memory of Babasaheb in Lucknow’s Aishbagh.

In this memorial and cultural center to be built on 1.34 acres, on one hand, a 25-feet high statue of Ambedkar will be installed and also the holy ashes of Baba Saheb will be kept for darshan. Along with this, a state-of-the-art auditorium with a capacity of 750 people, virtual museum, library, research center, dormitory, cafeteria and other basic facilities will be developed. After attending this program organized at Lok Bhawan, President Ram Nath Kovind will leave for Delhi by special Air Force aircraft at around 4 pm.

Earlier on Monday, President Kovind reached Lucknow from Kanpur by the Presidential train and went to the Raj Bhawan. The President paid tribute to Mahatma Gandhi by garlanding his statue at Raj Bhawan after which he attended high-tea and dinner organized by UP Governor Anandi Ben Patel at Raj Bhawan in which CJI Justice NV Ramana, Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, Law and Justice Minister Brajesh Pathak, Acting Chief Justice of Allahabad High Court Justice Munishwar Nath Bhandari and many other senior judges of the High Court were present. On this occasion, a photo session of all the judges was also done with Kovind.

The President is on a visit to his home state from June 25. He reached his home district Kanpur directly from Delhi on the Presidential Express train. President Ram Nath Kovind spent three days amidst his family, friends and well-wishers in his Kanpur city and native village Paraunkh. After this he traveled from Kanpur to Presidential Express and reached Charbagh railway station for a 2-day tour of the capital Lucknow. During this, Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, who reached Charbagh station for the first time in his four-year tenure, gave a warm welcome to President Ram Nath Kovind on his arrival in Lucknow.

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