"Don't Think You're The Only Wise Party" : Supreme Court To DMK In "Freebies" Case

While hearing the case relating to promise of "freebies" by political parties, the Supreme Court on Tuesday took a dim view of certain statements made by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party.

DMK, in an impleading petition filed before the Supreme Court, stated that welfare measures intended to uplift the marginalized persons cannot be termed as "freebies". The DMK also stated the Court should examine whether the tax holidays and loan waivers granted by the Union Government to big corporate houses would amount to "freebies".

When Senior Advocate P Wilson, who is representing the DMK, sought to make submissions in the case today, Chief Justice of India NV Ramana told him,"Mr Wilson, the party you represent, I have a lot of things to say but I am restraining myself because of being the CJI. Don't think you are the only wise party. The way you are talking, giving statements...Don't think we are ignoring all that is being said".

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioner, supplemented the CJI's remarks by saying, "Yes, we have all seen the kind of statements being made by the Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu on TV against the Supreme Court and they are not correct".

The bench comprising CJI NV Ramana, Justice Hima Kohli and Justice CT Ravikumar was hearing a PIL filed by lawyer and former BJP Spokesperson Ashwini Upadhyay seeking directions to stop political parties from promising "freebies" during election campaigns.

Political parties like Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Congress, DMK and YSRCP have intervened in the petition by broadly stating that welfare measures announced for the upliftment of weaker sections must not be construed as "freebies".

During the earlier hearings, the Court has expressed concerns about the burden created on the public exchequer by "freebies" and stressed the need for maintaining a balance between welfare measures and public economy.  The Court had mooted the constitution of an expert panel comprising Election Commission of India, Finance Commission of India, Reserve Bank of India, Niti Ayog and political parties to examine the issue.

The hearing in the case will continue tomorrow. A separate report detailing today's hearing will be published later.

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