Context :
Supreme Court agrees to list PIL against practice of parties promising freebies during polls .. TOI .. 20/3/24
Extract :
The Supreme Court agreed to hear a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) on Thursday challenging the practice of political parties promising freebies during elections.
This development comes just ahead of the upcoming general elections starting on April 19. The PIL calls for Election Commission to use its authority to freeze election symbols and cancel registration of parties engaged in such practices.
The bench, led by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, acknowledged the importance of the matter and scheduled it for discussion on Thursday.
The PIL, filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay and represented by senior advocate Vijay Hansaria, stresses the need for a complete ban on populist tactics aimed at influencing voters.
It argues that such practices violate the Constitution and disrupt the fairness of the electoral process. The plea urges the court to recognise that offering irrational freebies funded by the public before elections can unduly sway voters and undermine the integrity of democracy
The petitioner highlights the concerning trend of using freebies as a means to garner electoral support, equating it to bribing voters at the expense of public funds. The plea emphasises the necessity of curbing this unethical practice to uphold democratic principles and maintain the sanctity of elections.
It calls on the Election Commission to introduce a new condition in the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order 1968, prohibiting parties from promising or distributing irrational freebies prior to elections.
The PIL asserts that the distribution of private goods or services using public funds before elections violates various articles of the Constitution, including Article 14. Currently, there are eight national political parties and 56 state-level recognized parties, with approximately 2,800 unregistered political parties in the country. The upcoming general elections for the 18th Lok Sabha will commence on April 19 and conclude on June 1, with vote counting scheduled for June 4.
The nomination process for the initial phase, covering 102 parliamentary constituencies across 21 states and Union territories, began on Wednesday with the issuance of notifications. The PIL's plea reflects growing concerns over the influence of freebies on the electoral process and seeks judicial intervention to safeguard the integrity of democratic values during elections.
My Take :
Dear Shri Narendrabhai ,
Promising of FREEBIES is a cancer that is spreading fast through the innards of our society. Unless stopped soon , we will become a most corrupt / bankrupt country
Please look at my following suggestion for inclusion in NDA manifesto / 100 Days Roadmap :
Ø Freezing of Freebies ………………………. 29 Aug 2022
Extract :
In light of these, if you are serious about bringing an end to this “ revadi culture “,
the only option left to you is to , introduce yourself , a BILL in the next session of
the Lok Sabha, as ( conceptually ) outlined below :
( 1 ) Preamble
We, the people of India , declare that our votes are not for sale and we want to
put a stop to Political Parties trying to bribe us by offering freebies in their election
manifestos
( 2 ) Name of the Act
“ Prevention of Irresponsible Promises by Political Parties Act “ ( PIPPPA )
( 3 ) Objective
Ensure that the Election Manifestos do not contain any promise of freebies
( 4 ) Punishment for breaking Law
Depending upon the “ Degree / Extent “ of the violation , EC would :
# Prevent the concerned party from contesting the election to which the
manifesto pertains
# Stop the concerned party from accepting any donations through Electoral
Bonds or even directly
# Deregister / derecognize the concerned party
# Declare the concerned party as “ illegal “ and seize all of its movable / non-
movable assets
( 5 ) Examples of typical Freebies ( not comprehensive / Items to be added or
deleted )
Cash / Depositing money in voter's bank account / Liquor Bottles / LPG Cylinders /
Free Rice / Food Packets / Payments of Electricity - Water Bills / Mass Feasts /
Screening of films / Laptops / Tablets / Bicycles / Mangal Sutras / Gold Coins /
Buffalos / Colour TV / Mixer – Grinder / Unemployment Allowance / Waiver of
loans / Free Houses / Free Education / Health Care / Roti - Kapada - Makaan /
Transport / Smartphones
I suggest that, while deciding whether an item of Poll Promise, constitutes a
FREEBIE or not, the Parliamentary Select Committee apply the following criteria :
( a ) Item must not be linked to Religion – Caste – Creed – Beliefs etc
( b ) If the Manifesto pertains to Lok Sabha / Rajya Sabha Elections, then the
item must not refer to any specific State – Region but should be applicable
to citizens of ALL States
( c ) Preferably, the benefits accruing from any particular item, must be long-
lasting and should not be for a short duration
( d ) As far as possible, item should be in the nature of “ Creation of an Asset “
which can be used by any citizen from any part of India . These could be
Infrastructure Projects ( Hospitals–Highways–Ports etc )
( e ) An item of Manifesto can be linked to ( based on ) :
# Economic Status ( eg; Poor people )
# Age ( eg : Children suffering from mal-nutrition )
# Health ( eg : People suffering from certain illnesses /
pandemics )
# Gendre ( eg : Women )
( 6 ) Process
Political Parties must publish their manifestos on,
# their own websites
# the website of Election Commission ( in prescribed FORMAT )
# At least 4 major National News Papers ( local language news-papers for State /
Municipal elections )
This should be done at least 6 months before the planned elections ( State or
Central ). Of course, this provision would require EC to publish a “ TENTATIVE
SCHEDULE of ELECTIONS “
( 7 ) Coverage
PIPPPA would cover Lok-Sabha / Rajya Sabha / States / Municipal Elections
( 8 ) Accountability
Against each and every item ( in Poll Manifesto ), there must be mention of :
# Amount of Money / Funds required ( One-time CAPITAL amount for Infra
Projects / Recurring Annual revenue expenditure for WELFARE measures for 5
years )
# How the Party proposes to “ finance “ ( eg: by raising existing taxes / levying
NEW taxes / Borrowing etc )
With regards,
Hemen Parekh / hcp@RecruitGuru.com / 29 Aug 2022
[ A ]….. Views of Supreme Court
Freebies can drive a state to bankruptcy just to further a political party’s electoral prospects, the Supreme Court noted on Friday as it called for an “extensive” hearing by a three-judge bench to adjudicate the preliminary issues surrounding freebies and electoral promises.
“Freebies may create a situation wherein the state government cannot provide basic amenities due to lack of funds and the State is pushed towards imminent bankruptcy.
In the same breath, we should remember that such freebies are extended utilizing tax payers’ money only for increasing the popularity of the party and electoral prospects,” said the bench, which also included justices Hima Kohli and CT Ravikumar.
Freebies will continue to destroy the economy unless there is a conscious decision taken by all political parties to stop such hand-outs, the Supreme Court had observed during the Wednesday hearing
On Tuesday, the court had remarked that it wants to facilitate a dialogue in Parliament, which could consider framing a law…..the court cannot pass any direction on electoral promises, and that the idea is to help Parliament with a report by the proposed panel.
( Source : ‘Freebies’ matter unresolved, will now go to 3-judge bench / 27 Aug 2022 )
Chief Justice Ramana said the court’s primary concern is that largesse dressed as freebies should not bleed the national economy dry and put more and more burden on the taxpayer. The Chief Justice explained that the purpose behind the proposed formation of a committee was to collect the “ experience and wisdom” of the ordinary citizen, the rural poor, and place the study before the Parliament as a background to debate on a law on freebies.
“But we find that in this issue, all political parties are on one side… Everybody wants freebies, everybody! That was exactly why we wanted a neutral body to look into the issue,” Chief Justice Ramana explained.
With regards,
Hemen Parekh
www.hemenparekh.ai / 22 March 2024
Related Readings ( 26 ) :
2013 ( 6 ) :
Ø Needed - your Declaration of Intent - NOW ! [ 19 Sept 2013 ]
Ø BJP Poll Manifesto ……………………………………………………[ 19 Oct 2013 ]
Ø Selling Dreams ?.............................................. [ 04 Nov 2013 ]
Ø Issues Vs Non – Issues …………………………………………….[ 18 Nov 2013 ]
Ø Perennial Poll Promises…………………………………………….. [ 15 Dec 2013 ]
Ø Congressmen are Confused ! …………………………………… [ 31 Dec 2013 ]
2014 ( 7 ) :
Ø Robinhood of Delhi ?............................................ [ 01 Jan 2014 ]
Ø An Unprecedented Opportunity…………………………………. [ 04 Jan 2014 ]
Ø Selling Rainbows ?............................................... [ 22 Jan 2014 ]
Ø Poll Promises ? Tall Promises ? …………………………………..[ 23 Feb 2014 ]
Ø If / Then…………………………………………………………………………[ 06 Apr 2014 ]
Ø Bribing The Voters……………………………………………………….. [ 28 Apr 2014 ]
Ø What Are the Chances ?..........................................[ 18 May 2014 ]
2016 ( 2 ) :
Ø Advantage , Incumbent ?....................................... [ 05 Sept 2016 ]
Ø A Freebie that cannot be Faulted ? ………………………………[ 25 Dec 2016 ]
2017 ( 5 ) :
Ø Model Code of ( Hypocrite ) Conduct ? …………………[ 07 Jan 2017 ]
Ø We are not bribing the Voters !................................ [ 10 Jan 2017 ]
Ø Time to ditch Model Code of Conduct ?...................... [ 22 Jan 2017 ]
Ø " Election Reforms " Summarized…………………………………. [ 18 Aug 2017 ]
Ø Poll Reforms : Time for a Consensus…………………………….. [ 21 Aug 2017 ]
2018 ( 2 ) :
Ø Citizen’s Charter of Demand ………………………………………[ 29 Oct 2018 ]
Ø Divide Quota ? To rule Raj ? ……………………………………….[ 03 Dec 2018 ]
2019 ( 1 ) :
Ø Simple Summary of Sankalp ……………………………………[ 10 Apr 2019 ]
2020 ( 1 ) :
Ø Poll Promise to create 10 lakh jobs…………………….. ...[ 21 Oct 2020 ]
2022 ( 2 ) :
Ø What is price of your Vote ? ………………………………………[ 27 Jan 2022 ]
Ø Ignoramus ? Gullible ? …………………………………………………[ 09 Apr 2022 ]
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