No subsidized food in parliament canteen anymore, viral claim is false

It prices tea at Re 1, soup at Rs 5.50, chapati at Re 1, and biryani at Rs 8.

Netizens are mocking the parliament members for buying food at such low prices by calling them "poor people whose monthly salary excluding income tax is Rs 80,000."

The message is also viral on Facebook.

FACT CHECK:

In January 2021, ahead of the Budget Session, the Parliament canteen issued a new rate list that came into effect from 27 January 2021. The rate list, although cheap, is comparatively more expensive than previous rates. The new rate list came into effect after the subsidy to the Parliament canteen ended.

The low rate of food in the Parliament canteen often stoked controversy with critics objecting to members enjoying a cheap meal at the taxpayers' expense.

In 2019, all MPs had "unanimously" decided to do away with the subsidy. This brought in a new rate list and an increase in prices.

(Read more here and here)

As per the new rate list issued by the Lok Sabha Secretariat, a chapatti will now cost Rs 3 (the cheapest item), soup will cost Rs 25, chicken biryani will cost Rs 100, and mutton biryani will cost Rs 150. The menu will stretch on to include a veg buffet worth Rs 500 and a non-veg buffet worth Rs 700.

This confirms that the rumors circulating about the Parliamentary canteen prices are wrong.