Outgoing VP Venkaiah Naidu said that freebie culture can be harmful to the monetary and financial health of many states.
As political parties are gearing up for the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh elections in 2022, many political leaders and authorities have expressed their criticism for the ‘freebie’ culture followed by parties to garner votes during the polls.
Now, outgoing Vice President Venkaiah Naidu has also cracked down on the freebies offered by political parties to sway to votes of the citizens, saying that this trend can lead to the downfall of the financial health and resources of the state.
Addressing the Indian Information Service officers (IIS) of the 2018 and 2019 batches who came to call on him at Upa-Rashtrapati Nivas today, Naidu cautioned against the populist measures to garner votes from various political parties.
"The freebie culture has led to deteriorating financial health of many states. Government should definitely support the poor and needy, but at the same time should prioritize health, education and infrastructure development," he said, as per ANI reports.
Venkaiah Naidu, whose last day as the Vice President is on August 10, talked about how the need for constant dialogue between the people and the governments for citizen-centric and responsive governance is imperative.
"In a democracy, people need to be empowered through timely information on government’s policies and initiatives in their mother tongues. On the other hand, governments also need to be apprised of people’s expectations and aspirations in an objective and timely manner," he said.
This comes just days after the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) while campaigning in Gujarat for the upcoming state assembly elections, said that they will be offering free electricity if the party comes into power.
Similarly, the Congress party has said that if they emerge victorious in the Himachal Pradesh elections, their leadership will bring a fixed stipend for all women between the ages of 18 and 60, and 300 units of free electricity for every household.
Vice President Venkaiah Naidu will be stepping down from his post on August 10, after NDA candidate Jagdeep Dhankhar will be taking the oath as the new VP of India after winning in the polls against the opposition candidate Margaret Alva.
(With ANI inputs)
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 "‘Freebie culture draining financial health of states’: Outgoing VP Venkaiah Naidu ahead of Gujarat, Himachal polls")
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