"Freebie For One Is Another's Essential Need": Ex-Chief Economic Advisor | Read

Former Chief Economic advisor Arvind Subramanian today joined the debate on "freebies", saying deciding what's a freebie and what's not from the outside is a "mug's game". He slammed the successive state and central governments for failing to cater to basic needs like health and education, housing and infrastructure. He also said promise of freebies cut across political boundaries and so, "no party has the moral high ground" on this issue. The BJP has opposed the practice of freebies, declaring that it can bring financial ruin on a state. While the stance has been interpreted by many as a strike against its biggest threat, the growing Aam Aadmi Party of Arvind Kejriwal, it has also gained rapid traction. In an exclusive interview, Mr Subramanian told NDTV what stigmatizes the term "freebies" is the middle-class bias towards the welfare given to the poor, "What gets overlooked are the freebies the middle class gets in spades".