NEW DELHI: Chief Election Commissioner Rajiv Kumar said that freebies announced ahead of polls sport the “tadka of populism” and political parties find that it is difficult to implement such promises and either do not make good their pledges or stop it entirely after they come to power.
“As you said there is some announcement in one state or some other in another state, don’t know why they forget for five years and at the end make announcements one month or 15 days - (ahead of poll dates announcements). Anyway, that is within the domain of the state governments,” the CEC said.
The chief poll officer was responding to questions at a media briefing on how the commission was reining in such practices and what according to them was the definition of a freebie.
“Such freebies announcements have the ‘tadka’ of populism. Implementing the freebies and otherwise, both are difficult (choices),” CEC Kumar said.
“You are aware that the Commission had issued a proforma which is in the public domain...This proforma basically says that political parties have the right to say in their manifesto what they are going to do. At the same time, the voters also have the right to know when they will be implemented, how much, and how. The proforma asks what is your debt to GDP ratio, interest payments to total revenue receipts, whether you will breach FRBM (Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act) targets, whether you will cut allocation in other schemes to fulfil the manifesto, and whether they will put additional taxes (on citizens). So, the intention was to bring everything into the public domain,” CEC Kumar said.
“Another thing is present versus future generations. Are you not mortgaging the future generations? So there is a balance that needs to come so that voters must know the picture that is coming out of the financial fundamentals,” the chief added.
Further, CEC said the public has the right to know how the political parties would fulfil those freebies so that they can make an informed choice.
“The commission has already issued this circular (proforma) and done the political party consultations. But as you are aware, the matter is subjudice and the commision will act as soon as there is clarity and the decision is available on the subject,” the CEC said. (ANI)
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