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Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar on Monday said that the freebies announced by political parties and state governments have a ‘tadka’ of populism and it is difficult for those who win polls to either implement these sops or stop this practice. Responding to a question on freebies announced ahead of elections, he said the respective parties and states do not remember such sops for five years but announce them just a month or a fortnight before the election dates are announced. Kumar made these remarks at a press conference to announce the schedule of elections in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Mizoram. However, he added the matter was sub-judice and the EC will act as soon as clarity is available.
Last year, the Supreme Court had referred petitions seeking ban on freebies distributed by political parties before elections to a three-judge bench which it said will look into prayers for reconsidering the top court’s 2013 judgement in S Subramaniam Balaji vs State case of Tamil Nadu. The 2013 verdict had held that such promises of freebies cannot be termed corrupt practice. The EC had brought out a proforma for political parties and states to explain how and when the promises made by them in their poll manifesto will be implemented. It states that while parties are free to tell what they will do, the voters have a right to know how it will be implemented and how much and when it will be done. Parties and states were asked about the debt to GDP ratio, interest payment to total revenue and whether they will breach the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) targets. “The intention behind it was to bring everything in public domain,” he said. “These announcements have a ‘tadka’ of populism. It is difficult to either implement or stop such(sops). Therefore, people have a right to know how these freebies will be implemented,” he said.
In October 2022, the ECI had proposed amending the model code to ask political parties to provide authentic information to voters on the financial viability of their poll promises, a move that came amid the freebies versus welfare measures debate among political parties.
Last week, the Supreme Court had issued notices to the Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan governments, the Central government and EC on a plea seeking comprehensive guidelines to bar political parties from distributing cash and other freebies at the expense of taxpayers. A bench comprising Chief Justice DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala issued notice and tagged the case with the pending matter on freebies. The court has sought a response from them within four weeks.
