SC on political parties giving away freebies: 'Who will work'
The Supreme Court has raised concerns about political parties and state governments handing out freebies like free electricity, food, and cycles to everyone—regardless of income.
Chief Justice Surya Kant called this "appeasing policy" and questioned if giving away so much for free might actually hurt the country's growth.
Court's worry over petition seeking to ban freebies
The court pointed out that many states keep offering these giveaways even when they're already low on funds.
As CJI Kant put it, if you start giving free food from morning to evening then free cycle, then free electricity then who will work and then what will happen to the work culture?
The bigger worry: a petition now seeks directions to seize a party's election symbol or deregister a party that promises or distributes "irrational freebies" before polls, saying it's unfair to voters and could damage both democracy and the economy.