Difficult to define freebie, high time 'accepted and legal' answers found: CEC Kumar

It is very difficult to define what a "freebie" is and the Election Commission's "hands are tied" on the issue as it is subjudice, CEC Rajiv Kumar said on Tuesday. He also said it was "high time" that "accepted and legal answers" were found.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Kumar was addressing a press conference to announce the schedule for the assembly polls in Delhi.

Asked about political parties announcing freebies during election campaigns, he said the matter was subjudice and referred to a court judgment that had held freebies were not "disallowed".


"What is freebie for me may be an entitlement for someone else... It is very difficult to define what a freebie is," Kumar said.

He, however, added that while such announcements were made, people should also be aware of the state's fiscal health.

"It is necessary to see what is the fiscal health of a state... What is the debt-to-GDP ratio? How much will you borrow on that promise? How much is the financial cost of this promise?" Kumar said.

"...We cannot mortgage the future of future generations, this is a very very serious issue," he said.

"Our performa is on our website, this is high time it is accepted and legal answers are found but our hands are tied at the moment because the matter is subjudice," he added.