Chandigarh:
Congress pulled a page from the Aam Aadmi party’s book and promised free electricity to every household in Himachal Pradesh ahead of the state’s parliamentary elections. The party also announced financial aid of Rs 1,500 per month to women between the ages of 18 and 60 if they come to power.
The announcements – made by Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, who is also Congress’ senior election observer for the state – comes amid a nationwide debate over freebies.
The debate started weeks after Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP won a stunning victory in Punjab. Amid their promises to the state were free power and water as the party has implemented in Delhi, in addition to promising a massive upgrade in the health and education sectors.
In Gujarat, another state where elections will be held later this year, AAP has promised everyone jobs within five years – and an allowance for the unemployed until then.
The BJP had strongly criticized the freebies being offered. At a meeting in Jharkhand, Prime Minister Narendra Modi warned that such promises would hamper development and divert money needed for infrastructure and other sectors to secure the political future of parties.
AAP, furious, has argued that it is corruption and not freebies that lead to financial ruin of a state. Kejriwal said the real benefactors of the state’s generosity should be the people.
“What’s wrong with free water, free education?” Mr Kejriwal said during a recent online briefing. “These people have waived loans of Rs 10 lakh crore from their friends. Such people should be called traitors and an investigation should be conducted against them,” he added.
The Center, he said, should provide free education and health care to every citizen. The elderly should receive a pension and the unemployed a grant from the government.
Earlier this month, the Supreme Court said promising free gifts during election campaigns is a “serious economic issue” and said an agency is needed to investigate the matter.
“All stakeholders who want and oppose the freebies, including RBI, NITI Aayog, opposition parties, should be involved in this process to make a constructive suggestion,” said a bench of Chief Justice N.V. Ramana and Justices Krishna Murari and Hima Kohli.