TMC hits out at PM Modi for campaign against ‘freebie culture’, says Centre doles out most
NEW DELHI: Hitting out at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his campaign against handing out “rewri” or direct cash benefits and free facilities, Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC) on Friday said his “absurd statement” on “freebie culture” in some states is baseless.
“The Centre itself is doing it (doling out freebies) at a massive scale. And so are countries across the world,” said former West Bengal finance minister Amit Mitra who is currently an advisor to chief minister Banerjee. The party said free facilities to poor boost economic growth, even as it referred to the Centre as the “biggest provider” on this count.
Calling the campaign absolutely “misplaced”, the party said the PM and his government are “looking at themselves in a mirror” as far as freebies, given for political leverage, are concerned.
“The Centre is the biggest giver, as much as Rs 1.25 lakh crore through eight central schemes, which can be construed as freebies,” pointed out Mitra.
Mitra mentioned that PM Modi had on January 1, 2022, “suddenly announced Rs 6,000 each for 10 crore farmers as a fresh instalment of direct transfer under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi programme, which is a perfect case of a freebie”.
Similarly, the TMC leader said, Rs 9,652 crore is still being shelled out by the Modi government under the National Assistance Programme, started in 1995. “If it is a freebie, why did the Centre not cut it? Like this, Rs 1.25 lakh crore is being given away by the central government in freebies,” Mitra mentioned.
The TMC leader, however, defended the welfare-oriented schemes where cash and free facilities are provided to the poor, saying that they empower the downtrodden as well as generate demand, hence rejuvenating the economy.
He drew examples from world economies like the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Germany.
Mitra pointed out the US government’s allocation of $2.2 trillion under the Economic Security Act, under which families of four get $3,400 a month in cash, that has turned around the American economy by stimulating demand. He brought up the UK’s furlough scheme where 80% of the last salary drawn is given as cash by the government, as another case in point, and referred to German cash transfer schemes for economic support.
