NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s top court said on Wednesday that the practice of giving handouts was creating a “class of parasites” that was unwilling to work during elections because of “freebies” offered by political parties, legal news website Live Law reported.
Handouts, including cash giveaways, free power, water, grain and loan waivers have become standard features ahead of elections in India despite the central bank and Prime Minister Narendra Modi warning against the fiscal damage they cause.
Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won elections in Delhi last week, for the first time in nearly three decades, after promising handouts including cash to poor women, the elderly, and youth preparing for competitive exams.
“Are we not creating a class of parasites? … when elections are declared … people are not willing to work … They are getting free rations without doing any work!” said Justice B R Gavai.
He made the observations as part of a two-judge bench hearing a public interest litigation for a mechanism to ensure shelter for homeless people, Live Law reported.
“Would it not be better to make them part of mainstream society so that they can contribute to (the) nation?” he said.
More than a third of India’s 36 states and federal territories have announced or are currently running various handout programs, including those involving direct cash transfers.
Opposition groups had also promised handouts to Delhi’s citizens during campaigning, with the Aam Aadmi Party’s pledges including a stipend for all Hindu priests, while Congress offered monthly cash handouts to women, among other things.
With six more states due to vote over the next two years, analysts expect the practice to gain ground in the coming months.
($1 = 86.8900 Indian rupees)
