Ballot dole, ‘freebie’ tough to outline, rues CEC Rajiv Kumar

It is vitally tough to outline what a ‘freebie’ is and the Election Fee’s “fingers are tied” on the problem as it’s sub judice, CEC Rajiv Kumar mentioned on Tuesday, 7 January 2025.

He additionally mentioned it was “excessive time” that “accepted and authorized solutions” had been discovered.

Chief election commissioner (CEC) Kumar was addressing a press convention to announce the schedule for the meeting polls in Delhi.

Requested about political events asserting freebies throughout election campaigns, he mentioned the matter was sub judice and referred to a court docket judgement that had held freebies weren’t ‘disallowed’.

“What’s ‘freebie’ for me could also be an entitlement for another person… It is vitally tough to outline what a freebie is,” Kumar mentioned.

“Our professional forma is on our web site. That is excessive time it’s accepted and authorized solutions are discovered, however our fingers are tied in the meanwhile as a result of the matter is sub judice,” he added.

Kumar additional mentioned that whereas such bulletins had been made, individuals also needs to pay attention to the state’s fiscal well being.

“It’s essential to see what’s the fiscal well being of a state… What’s the debt-to-GDP ratio? How a lot will you borrow on that promise? How a lot is the monetary value of this promise?” he mentioned.

“…We can not mortgage the way forward for future generations. It is a very very critical problem,” he added.