Court on poll freebies
At a time when freebies have been playing a growing and prominent role in electoral politics, the Supreme Court’s pointed question on whether these promises can be curbed is pertinent (Page 1, “Can promises of ‘irrational’ poll freebies be curbed, SC asks govt.”, July 27). Despite being aware of the fact that freebies promised during elections cause an additional burden to the exchequer, political parties have been competing with each other in announcing unsustainable and irrational freebies to woo the voters. In their competitive outbidding, political parties do not look beyond the elections as what matters is coming to or retaining power at any cost. In their quest for power, they never think about the financial viability of such promises. Further, the distribution of freebies for votes has vitiated the need for conducting free and fair elections. It is time the Government and the Election Commission of India take the necessary steps to correct the situation.
D. Sethuraman,
