Election Freebies

IN NEWS:

• Recently, the Supreme Court has decided to set up a committee with representation from the Niti Aayog, the Finance Commission, the Election Commission, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and political parties to study the impact of ‘freebies’ on taxpayers and economy and recommend measures to regulate it.

FREEBIES:

• The dictionary meaning of freebies is “something that is given to you without you having to pay for it, especially as a way of attracting your support for or interest in something.”
• The origin of freebie culture in India can be traced to Tamilnadu politics. Today, the politics of freebies in India has become an integral part of the electoral battles across the country.
• Nowadays, they cover a wide range of goods and services: from income support, farm loan waivers and subsidies on essentials to bicycles, colour TVs, cellphones, mixer-grinders and laptops.

ARGUMENTS FAVOURING FREEBIES:

• Means of social welfare:
  • Providing freebies, like in the form of power and water bill waivers, can be viewed as one of the means to promote welfare economy.
• Supported by DPSP:
  • Article 38 and Article 39 of the Directive Principles of State Policy entrusts the State to frame various welfare measures for the citizens. Hence, the promise of welfare measures in an election manifesto is well within the constitutional mandates.
• Aids in informed decision making:
  • The promises made by various political parties gives an idea to the voters as to what they can expect if these parties come to power. This offers a chance for voters to weigh the options available for them and decide on who to vote for.
• Limited influence on electoral outcomes:
  • Success in elections depend on multiple factors and the offer of freebies does not assure success.
  • For eg: In the 2019 general election, even though the opposition party offered Rs. 60000 per year to farmers against the Rs.6000 offered by the ruling party, they lost the election.
• Equitable redistribution of wealth:
  • In India, the top 10% holds 57% of the total national income, while the bottom 50% holds just 13% in 2021, according to the World Inequality Report 2022. Since the benefits of freebies are mostly accrued by the poor and vulnerable, it can help reduce this stark inequality. 

ARGUMENTS AGAINST FREEBIES:

• Undermines sustainable development:
  • The freebie culture leads to diversion of funds from development projects which can have long-lasting advantages, such as measures to enhance per capita income, employment opportunities, skill development and social security.
• Inefficient utilisation of public fund:
  • Freebie budget is going beyond regular budget. Also, the disbursement of freebies and subsidies is carried out without any reliable studies or public discussions, which results in inefficient use of public resources.
• Undermines free and fair election:
  • Promise/distribution of irrational freebies from public fund before election unduly influences the voters, shakes the roots of free and fair election, disturbs level playing field and vitiates the purity of election process.
• Indication of governance failure:
  • The increasing phenomenon of freebies indicates the failure of our economic policies to create decent livelihood for a vast majority of Indians.
• Financial burden:
  • The delivery of freebies creates severe strain on a state’s resources. The poor health of state electricity boards is a shining example.
  • Also, the pandemic has worsened the states’ financial health and continuation of freebie culture can lead to serious crisis like defaulting loan repayments.
• Lack of accountability:
  • The promises made in the election manifesto cannot be construed as ‘corrupt practice’ under Section 123 of the Representation of Peoples Act. Hence, the parties cannot be held accountable for not upholding the promises made.
• Exaggerated promises:
  • Parties often makes some big ticket promises without a sense of responsibility or feasibility. This becomes a concern if they come to power.

JUDICIAL SCRUTINY:

The legality of providing freebies was looked into in S Subramaniam Balaji vs State of Tamil Nadu case (2013). The court after extensive analysis arrived on the following conclusion:

• • The schemes do not violate Art. 14 of public purpose and reasonable classification as it is in the realm of fulfilling the DPSP.
  • The promises to distribute election freebies in an election manifesto cannot be constructed as ‘Corrupt Practice’ under the Section 123 of Representative of people Act, 1950.
  • Distribution of freebies cannot be stopped when the ruling party uses public funds for this purpose through passage of Appropriation Acts in state assembly.
  • It further directed the Election Commission to frame guidelines with consultation of political parties.

Accordingly, the ECI held a meeting with the political parties and issued guidelines which mandated that their election manifestos should not contain anything repugnant to the Model Code of Conduct. But they are toothless and can’t be enforced.

WAY FORWARD:

• ‘Planned freebies’:
  • There is nothing wrong in having a policy-led elaborate social security programme that seeks to help the poor. But such a programme needs well thought out preparation and targeted delivery.
• Make manifesto accountable:
  • There should be separate legislation through which the Election Commission can regulate the promises made in election manifesto and take action taken against the parties for the non-fulfilment of promises.
• Voter awareness:
  • The ultimate success in tackling the issues depends on whether the electorate can see through the posturing. For this, efforts to improve voter awareness are needed.
• Focus on sustainable policies:
  • Governments during their term should focus on investing in socio-economic development and provide sustainable livelihood opportunities for people.

PRACTICE QUESTION:

Q. "Freebies could be considered a "life and economic saviour" during dire times such as natural disasters and pandemics".Critically analyse.