The EC had called an all-party meeting on Monday, in the wake of a Supreme Court order to monitor, among other things, "freebies" promised by parties before an election, to win office. Most political parties felt major policy decisions such as farm loan waiver or direct transfer of subsidies could be misconstrued as 'freebies'. They were vehemently opposed to the EC “exceeding its jurisdiction” by monitoring their manifestos.
It was only Satish Chandra Mishra of the BSP, the major opposition party in Uttar Pradesh, who was in favour of the restrictions on freebies. The now-ruling Samajwadi Party in UP had promised and then given free laptops on coming to power in the state.
The Biju Janata Dal’s Pinaki Mishra told Business Standard, “There is no occasion for the EC to monitor the content of manifestos. It is exceeding its jurisdiction. This is a matter that is essentially between the voter and political parties. It is for the voter to decide.”
He added there were occasions when parties promise freebies but don’t win the election.
Ravi Shankar Prasad, deputy leader of the opposition in Rajya Sabha and a Bharatiya Janata Party senior, told Business Standard: “The concept of freebie is not clear to any of the political parties. A loan waiver to farmers in a drought-prone area or a power subsidy to farmers is a policy decision, keeping in mind the people. The discussion between freebies and manifestos of a political party must be decided by the people. It is the right of the people to choose which political party they want to vote for and policies and manifesto of which political party they support. Political parties in some states announce refrigerators and television sets to people in their manifestos; in some states, announce of giving cycles to children so that they can go to schools regularly. A mid-day meal is also a freebie in that sense. The final decision should be taken by the people who decide which party to vote for on the basis of the manifesto presented before the people.”
The SC, while disposing of a petition on July 5, challenging the freebies announced by the Tamil Nadu government, had asked the EC to frame guidelines about such promises announced by political parties in their manifestos.
The EC then studied the practices adopted by different nations in this regard and was keen to formulate a clear policy on defining freebies announced by parties ahead of elections, to be included as part of the Model Code of Conduct. The Commission has felt that offering of such freebies ahead of the polls disturbs the concept of a level playing field.