What is considered "freebies" in normal times can be lifesavers during a disaster or a pandemic, the Election Commission of India (ECI) told the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
The top poll body was giving the apex court its take on a petition filed by advocate Ashwini Upadhyay to ban the practice of political parties promising "irrational freebies", especially during election time to garner votes.
The ECI said both "irrational" and "freebies" were terms open to subjective interpretation. They have no legal precise definitions. What may be irrational or a freebie for one, may be rational and essential for another section of the society.
"'Freebies' can have a different impact on society, economy, equity depending on the situation… For instance, during natural disasters/pandemic, providing life-saving medicine, food, funds, etc, may be a life and economic saviour but in normal times, they could be termed 'freebies'," the ECI reasoned.
Benefits of cross-subsidisation and situation/sector-specific reliefs to address the different vulnerabilities of sections of society cannot be underestimated, the poll body said.
The ECI said a ban on freebies could be "tweaked" by political parties to serve their own ends.
"Political parties can make such promises they know would be banned or adversely commented upon by the regulatory authority. This might serve to give them more publicity and mileage than actual implementation post-election," the Election Commission said.
The ECI, however, said it welcomed the court's proposal to set up an expert body, drawn from a wide spectrum of government and non-government bodies, to study and suggest solutions to the problem of freebies. But the Election Commission said it cannot be part of the body.
"It may not be appropriate for the Commission, being the constitutional authority, to offer to be part of the expert committee, especially if there are Ministers and government bodies in the expert body," the ECI affidavit said.
Plus, the ECI said any opinion or comment from it during deliberations when there are "continuous elections" in the country would disturb the level playing field.
The Commission said it would give the recommendations of the expert body its "highest consideration".
On August 3, the court, suggesting the formation of an expert body, had orally observed that the Parliament may not be able to effectively debate the issue of doing away with "irrational freebies". It said the "reality" was that not a single political party wanted to take away freebies.
The remark from a Bench led by Chief Justice of India N.V. Ramana had come even as the Centre had said freebies were paving the way to an "economic disaster" besides "distorting the informed decision of voters".
The Centre, represented by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, had said it "substantially and in principle" supported doing away with the practice of promising freebies to voters.
