The Supreme Court was hearing a plea filed by Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay seeking a ban on political parties promising ‘freebies’ to lure voters in the run-up to elections.
Mumbai: The Supreme court on Thursday noted that promising and handing out giveaways or freebies from political parties during polling season is “a serious problem” as the economy loses money as a result, Bar and Bench reported.
The highest court heard a GDP presented by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay calling for a ban on political parties that promised “giveaways” to lure voters ahead of the elections. The appeal called for measures to regulate the electoral manifesto and for political parties to account for the commitments undertaken therein.
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“Nobody says it is not a issue. It is a serious issue. Those who are getting they want it and ours is a welfare state. Some may say that they are paying taxes and it has to be used for the developmental process. So its a serious issue. So both side has to be heard by committee,” CJI NV Ramana was quoted as saying by the Bar and Bench.
The Chief Justice of India also noted that India is a country “where there is poverty and the central government is also planning to feed the hungry” and stated that the economy is losing money and that “the well-being of the people must be balanced”.
The court will hear the plea on August 17.
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