The Supreme Court on August 3 said the Parliament may not be able to effectively debate the issue of doing away with "irrational freebies" offered to voters during elections, saying the "reality" is that not a single political party wants to take away freebies.
The court suggested setting up a specialised body composed of persons who can “dispassionately” examine the problem.
The observations from a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana came even as the Centre said these freebies were paving the way to an "economic disaster" besides "distorting the informed decision of voters". The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, said it "substantially and in principle" supported doing away with the practice of promising freebies to voters.
