Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday slammed Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal for “perversely twisting” the debate on freebies by questioning whether the provision of education and healthcare also constituted such handouts.
Asserting that the provision of health and education are part of governments’ duties in a welfare state, Ms. Sitharaman said they have never been called freebies.
“No Indian government has ever denied them. So by classifying education and health as freebies, Mr. Kejriwal is trying to bring in a sense of worry and fear in minds of poor,” the Finance Minister said, stressing that the Delhi Chief Minister has given a perverse twist to the debate on freebies when there should be a “genuine debate” on the issue.
