Supreme Court questions election ‘freebies’, says people ‘not willing to work’

The Supreme Court on Wednesday questioned the practice of political parties announcing “freebies” before elections, saying that people were unwilling to work as they were getting free foodgrains and money, PTI reported.

“Unfortunately, because of these freebies… the people are not willing to work,” Justice BR Gavai observed. “They are getting free rations. They are getting amount without doing any work.”

“Freebies” is a term frequently used by critics of certain welfare benefits such as subsidised or free foodgrains and public transport, and concessions in electricity bills.

Gavai, along with Justice Augustine George Masih, was on Wednesday hearing a public interest litigation petition about the right to shelter for homeless persons in cities.

“We quite appreciate your concern for them but would it not be better to make them a part of the mainstream of society and permit them to contribute to the development of the nation?” the court asked.

The petitioner, ER Kumar, claimed that the Union government had stopped funding a scheme for constructing shelters for homeless persons, which forced them to live on the streets, Live Law reported.

However, Attorney General R Venkataramani said that the Union government’s New Mission on Urban Poverty Alleviation would tackle a range of problems linked to poverty, including setting up shelters for homeless persons in urban areas.

Venkataramani also claimed…

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