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| cnbctv18.com |
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| industantimes.com |
When assembly elections are round the corner, political leaders of various parties across India will be working overtime scratching their brain as to how to spread the dragnet and catch swaths of voters to cast their vote in their favor. Promises of dolling out freebees at the time of election are common and such a trend has already set a bad precedent and will put a strain on the economy.
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| credit - Deccan Chronicle / |
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| moneycontrol.com/ |
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| credit - Deccan Chronicle |
Offering freebies during elections is equal to using cattle as a bait to catch wild animals in the jungle as the hunters did in the past. It is a kind of bribe, a sort of reward in exchange for the votes and what matters is to win the election and be in the corridor of power. It is a subtle way of bribing the people to win elections at any cost.
Even if the state has surplus revenue, the ruling government should think twice before offering freebies to people within the budgetary outlay. Offering free education, heath services, etc. to the poor or marginalized people may be reasonable and it is part of welfare schemes, and giving free electricity, free bus transport, free cooking gas, fans or cash does not come under the welfare scheme. These freebies are mere waste and such free offers will make the people lethargic and expect more from the government.
Already more than half of the state revenue alone covers the salary for the government employees who enjoy high salary and holydays. What about contingency funds to meet emergencies like cyclone, flooding, etc. Many states have poor road conditions, poorly maintained water canals without desilting, poor health care centers and damaged school buildings with poor toilet facilities. They need to be taken care of first with periodic supervision by the government agency.
The strain on the state finance will be much heavy if subsides are offered when the state is experiencing weak fiscal strength. Instead of wasting money on freebies, if the government focuses on infrastructure developments, health care at village level, industries and agriculture it will go a long way and improve the quality of life. Dolling out freebies means, several infrastructure projects etc., will be at stake. The freebies concept is not conducive to economic growth unless it is limited to only marginalized people. The people should not depend on anything free from the the government. Any reward without toil is unworthy. ''Now, this freebies culture has been elevated to the level of art and now elections are only fought on this ground. If freebies is considered to be for welfare of the people, it'll lead to a disaster," dad Solicitor General Tushar Mehta before the SC Chief Justice Ramana.
The RBI data showed total outstanding liabilities of the States as on March 31, 2021 is a staggering amount of Rs 59,89,360 crores Tax payers money should be spent by the netas to win the election and gain political power. In the absence financial discipline, burdened by uncleared loans the health of the economy will be in a shambles if the scourge of ''freebies'' offers from the political parties continue with out a check on it.
https://wwwchange.org/p/election-commission-of-india-restrict-political-parties-offering-freebies-during-election-campaigns
