Freebie culture: Congress slams PM Narendra Modi’s remarks, sparks ‘revdi vs gajak’ debate

The debate over the freebies culture in India during elections rallies has sparked a major political row, as Centre stands firmly against the offer of free amenities, opposition parties such as Congress and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) have defended the practice.

Launching an attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his recent remark about ending the freebies culture in India ahead of the elections, Congress bombarded the BJP with a series of questions, which included why the bank loans worth Rs 5.8 lakh crore were written off and why corporate tax worth Rs 1.45 lakh crore was reduced.

Congress leader Gaurav Vallabh questioned PM Modi, asking when will there be a discussion on bank loan waivers to big corporates and the decrease in corporate taxes. While speaking to reporters, Vallabh said that of the Rs 9.92 lakh crore loan written off by banks in the last five years, Rs 7.27 lakh crore is the share of public sector banks.

The government, he added, has admitted in an answer in Parliament that only Rs 1.03 lakh crore was recovered of the amount written off by it. Assuming that the recovery from the written-off loan will increase to 20 percent in the coming time, public sector banks have not recovered the loan of Rs 5.8 lakh crore, he further said.

"When will there be a discussion on freebies given by the public sector banks of Rs 5.8 lakh crore in the last five years?" Posing a series of questions, he also wondered when there will be a discussion on the loss of Rs 1.45 lakh crore per year to the government due to the reduction in corporate tax rates.

Referencing the revdi comment on the freebies debate, the Congress leader said, “Why are small amounts or assistance given to the poor freebies (revdi), while the freebies that the rich friends get all the time through low tax rates, write-offs and exemptions are 'necessary incentives' (gajak)?”

Vallabh further asked, “How and when will this culture of false promises end? Is the PM going to give new deadlines of promises made for the year 2022 using smoke and mirrors culture?”

(With PTI inputs)

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