The past few years have seen an unprecedented rise in electoral politics involving freebies and financial aid. Right from Delhi to Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh to Maharashtra, and Himachal Pradesh to Jharkhand, the freebies are helping the political parties win the polls. Be it free electricity or bus, monthly financial aid for women or students, the political parties are coming with one after another scheme to lure voters.
However, the burden of these schemes falls on the exchequer and not all the states are ready to bear such a huge additional financial burden. Congress-ruled states like Karnataka and Himachal Pradesh are facing financial crunch and thus are looking for one or another way to generate revenue, that will dent the pockets of the common man.
While Himachal Pradesh has decided to do away with free public toilets for men, Karnataka has decided to increase the bust fare by 15%. Interestingly, since buses are free for women in Karnataka as promised by the Congress government, the men will have to pay more to travel in buses.
Just a day ago, Shimla Municipal Corporation decided to impose Rs 5 fee for men for using public toilets. The decision came as the state is struggling to meet its expenses due to welfare schemes including freebies. The Himachal CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu himself relinquished the free electricity and urged wealthy families to follow suit to lessen the burden on the state finances.
Now, the Congress-ruled Karnataka government has decided to increase the bus fares in the state-owned transport corporations by 15 per cent. The decision was taken in view of the substantial hike in operational costs such as increase in spending on fuel prices and staff, Karnataka Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil said. The move is expected to generate Rs 74.85 crore monthly and about Rs 784 crore annually.
The Minister also underlined that ‘Shakti’ guarantee will continue. Shakti offers free ride for Karnataka women in state-owned non-luxury buses across the state. In the current fiscal, Rs 5,015 crore has been earmarked for the ‘Shakti’ scheme, the Minister explained.
The BJP and the AAP are also offering many freebies including free financia aid to women voters. A please is already before the Supreme Court challenging the freebies culture.
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