"Freebies Being Given In Karnataka Will...": MP Raises Issue In Rajya Sabha

Both the house of the parliament have been at a logjam over Manipur violence since the monsoon session began on July 20. Amid the uproar and chaos, Rajya Sabha MP Lahar Singh on Wednesday raised questions on the schemes launched by the Karnataka government in the name of public welfare, saying that they are being given free of cost and affecting the state's finances.

Raising this issue in the House, Member of Parliament Lahar Singh said that after coming to power in Karnataka, the government has been distributing freebies which is affecting the budget of the state government. He said that in the future, the whole state will have to bear the brunt of these schemes, and this will slow down the pace of development of the Karnataka. He demanded in the House that attention should be paid to these decisions of the Karnataka government.

"I would like to draw the attention of the Government on a very important subject that has dire implications on the country's macroeconomic stability. The culture of announcing freebies competitively to win elections poses a great risk on the fiscal health of States," Mr Singh said in the house.

"In April 2023, the CAG of India said. 'While we understand the importance of subsidies to help the underprivileged, it is essential to transparently account for such subsidies and we require to distinguish between justifiable subsidies from freebies, which are not fiscally responsible'," he added.