"This is a brazen and arrogant attempt to publicly legalise political corruption," SDP vice-president Zeljka Antunovic told a press briefing in the Parliament, announcing that the independent deputies would be asked to give the money back.
Antunovic accused the HDZ of trying to legalise an "unlawful and unconstitutional" decision adopted by the Committee on the Constitution and Rules of Procedure early this year, which she said made it possible for independent MPs "to pocket 250,000 kuna (approximately 33,000 euros) a year".
"If the HDZ wants to continue the practice of buying the majority in the Parliament, let them do it, but sooner or later they will be condemned by the public. They cannot do that using budgetary funds, but should loosen their own purse strings," she said.
Antunovic said that under the law the money intended for political parties could in no way be given to independent deputies.
"No member of Parliament may pocket a single kuna beyond their pay or entitlements," she said, adding that the Committee on the Constitution was "pulling the wool over people's eyes" with its explanation that the purpose of the amendments was to ensure that all deputies had equal entitlements.