All posts tagged: freebies

If Centre stops assistance or grants, we will not accept it: AIADMK leader-candidate K.P. Munusamy

If Centre stops assistance or grants, we will not accept it: AIADMK leader-candidate K.P. Munusamy

Published by Parlour News

K.P. Munusamy, the AIADMK candidate for Veppanahalli, campaigns at Shoolagiri in Krishnagiri district. | Photo Credit: N. Bashkaran Taking time off his campaign on Sunday morning in the picturesque village of Gangapuram, about 12 km from Hosur in Krishnagiri district and 135 km from Salem, AIADMK deputy general secretary and former Minister K.P. Munusamy, 73, who is seeking re-election from Veppanahalli, reflected on political challenges to his party in the election, the relevance of freebies, and the impact of the entry of TVK president C. Joseph Vijay into the electoral fray. Edited excerpts: Published – April 12, 2026 11:24 pm IST Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link

If Centre stops assistance or grants, we will not accept it: AIADMK leader-candidate K.P. Munusamy

If Centre stops assistance or grants, we will not accept it, says K.P. Munusamy

Published by Parlour News

On a strong wicket: K.P. Munusamy, the AIADMK  candidate for Veppanahalli, campaigns at  Shoolagiri in Krishnagiri district. | Photo Credit: N. BASHKARAN Taking time off his campaign on Sunday morning in the picturesque village of Gangapuram, about 12 km from Hosur in Krishnagiri district and 135 km from Salem, AIADMK deputy general secretary and former Minister K.P. Munusamy, 73, who is seeking re-election from Veppanahalli, reflected on political challenges to his party in the election, the relevance of freebies, and the impact of the entry of TVK president C. Joseph Vijay into the electoral fray. Edited excerpts: Published – April 12, 2026 11:24 pm IST Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more information and to view the original source, please visit the following link: Source link

Rs 651 Crore Freebies Seized Ahead of Polls: Cash, Liquor, Drugs

Rs 651 Crore Freebies Seized Ahead of Polls: Cash, Liquor, Drugs

Published by Parlour News

2 min readApr 5, 2026 06:20 PM IST Authorities have seized cash, liquor, drugs and other freebies worth over Rs 651.51 crore in connection with the ongoing Assembly elections in four states and one Union Territory, the Election Commission said on Sunday. ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW VIDEO Of the total amount of seizures, Rs 319 crore worth of inducements were seized from West Bengal, comprising Rs 11 crore in cash, 21.29 lakh litres liquor worth Rs 55 crore, drugs worth Rs 65 crore, precious metals worth Rs 39 crore, and other freebies worth Rs 150 crore. Seizures worth Rs 170 crore were made in Tamil Nadu, Rs 97 crore in Assam, Rs 58 crore in Kerala, and Rs 7 crore in Puducherry. The EC said the commission has held multiple meetings with the Chief Secretaries, Chief Electoral Officers, Directors General of Police and other senior officers of the four states and the lone poll-bound UT as well as of the 12 states/UTs that border them, to make sure the elections are “violence-free, intimidation-free and inducement-free”. The …

Freebies worth Rs.408 crore seized in Assembly polls so far | India News

Freebies worth Rs.408 crore seized in Assembly polls so far | India News

Published by Parlour News

1 min readNew DelhiMar 26, 2026 06:18 PM IST Authorities have seized cash, liquor, drugs and other freebies worth Rs.408.82 crore so far in connection with the Assembly polls in Assam, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal, and bye-elections in six states, the Election Commission said on Thursday. In a statement, the EC said the inducements worth Rs.408.82 crore were seized from February 26, when the EC activated its electronic seizure management system, till Monday. The seizures included Rs 17.44 crore in cash, 16.3 lakh litres of liquor worth Rs. 37.68 crore, drugs worth Rs. 167.38 crore, precious metals worth Rs. 23 crore and other freebies worth over Rs. 163.30 crore, the EC said. The EC had announced the polls and bye-polls on March 15. Over 5,173 flying squads and 5,200 static surveillance teams had been deployed to attend to complaints and set up checkpoints respectively, it said. Since the announcement of polls, the EC said 70,944 Model Code of Conduct (MCC) complaints had been lodged on its C-Vigil app, of which 70,831 had …

Parties must avoid excessive freebies, focus on development, says ex-Minister Semmalai

Parties must avoid excessive freebies, focus on development, says ex-Minister Semmalai

Published by Parlour News

AIADMK’s senior leader and former Education and Health Minister S. Semmalai on Saturday (March 21, 2026) called upon political parties to avoid rolling out a slew of freebies. Asked whether the spree of freebies, being announced by major political parties as part of their electoral assurances, would facilitate the development of Tamil Nadu, the 80-year-old former Minister replied emphatically: “Definitely not! This should be avoided. Leaders of political parties should realise this.” He added that his prescription was applicable to the Union government too. Pointing out that the outstanding debt of the State government would exceed the ₹10-lakh-crore mark by 2026-27 from about ₹5.19 lakh crore five years ago, Mr. Semmalai, who represented Salem in the Lok Sabha during 2009-14, contended that this would be double the figure the State had accrued in the last 50 years. “Loans have been taken even to meet the commitment of interest payment.” Criticising the DMK government for not increasing the capital expenditure substantially in the last five years, the former Minister said the present regime had “frittered away” …

Twenty Point Programme chief cautions against populist schemes and freebies

Twenty Point Programme chief cautions against populist schemes and freebies

Published by Parlour News

Lanka Dinakar, Chairman of 20 Point Programme, addressing a media conference in Tirupati on February 20, 2026 | Photo Credit: K.V. Poornachandra Kumar Lanka Dinakar, Chairman of the Implementation of Twenty Point Programme (Viksit Bharat – Swarna Andhra Pradesh), appealed to the states to take prudent steps to prevent fiscal deterioration and work collectively towards making India a ‘Viksit Bharat’. Taking a leaf from the observations made by the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on the impact of excessive freebies on fiscal management, Mr. Dinakar appealed to all the state governments and every political party to take note of the serious observation. He also observed that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently cautioned against unsustainable and populist schemes and highlighted the need for structural reforms to safeguard the nation’s economic future. “The remarks by Justice Surya Kant indicate that the time has come for a healthy and constructive dialogue between the union and state governments to strengthen fiscal discipline and improve financial governance”, he added. Mr. Dinakar recalled in this connection the series …

Supreme Court says freebies may hamper economic growth of the country

Supreme Court says freebies may hamper economic growth of the country

Published by Webster

The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the freebies culture, saying it was high time to revisit such policies that hamper the country’s economic development. Taking note of the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd’s plea, which proposed to provide free electricity to all irrespective of financial status of consumers, the top court said it was quite understandable if states hand-hold the poor.  “Most of the states in the country are revenue deficit states and yet they are offering such freebies” overlooking development, said the bench. The bench said economic development of the nation gets hampered with this kind of largesse distribution. This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed, agencies. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability and data of the text. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever Disclaimer: We do not own any of the content, ideas, images, or text presented here. All rights belong to their respective owners. For more …

‘What Kind Of Culture Are You Cultivating?’: Supreme Court Slams ‘Freebies’ Ahead Of Elections | India News

‘What Kind Of Culture Are You Cultivating?’: Supreme Court Slams ‘Freebies’ Ahead Of Elections | India News

Published by Webster

Last Updated:February 19, 2026, 13:24 IST Criticising the freebies culture, the Supreme Court said the economic development of the nation gets hampered with this kind of largesse distribution. The Supreme Court of India. (File) The Supreme Court on Thursday slammed the freebies culture ahead of the elections and said that it was high time to revisit such policies, as it hampers the country’s economic development. Further coming down heavily on the Tamil Nadu government in view of the distribution of ‘freebies’ before elections, the apex court questioned, “What kind of culture are you trying to cultivate?” The top court’s comments came in regard to the Tamil Nadu Power Distribution Corporation Ltd’s plea, which proposed to provide free electricity to all, irrespective of the financial status of consumers. “Most of the states in the country are revenue-deficient states, and yet they are offering such freebies, overlooking development,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said. The bench said economic development of the nation gets hampered with this kind …

Long queues outside Shilpa Shetty’s restaurant after free breakfast offer trigger debate on freebies: ‘Free ke liye…’

Long queues outside Shilpa Shetty’s restaurant after free breakfast offer trigger debate on freebies: ‘Free ke liye…’

Published by Parlour News

Actor Shilpa Shetty’s restaurant, AmmaKai, found itself at the centre of social media chatter after it announced a free breakfast on Republic Day, drawing massive crowds to the outlet. People were seen lining up hours before opening, with videos of the long queues soon going viral. Shilpa Shetty’s AmmaKai was launched in December 2025. The videos sparked a broader debate, with social media users weighing in on the culture of freebies and the public mindset around such initiatives. AmmaKai breakfast offer divides social media Shilpa Shetty’s newly launched restaurant, AmmaKai, sparked a social media debate over its free breakfast offer on January 26, which led to long queues outside the outlet. The first-come, first-served initiative saw people lining up as early as 7 am, with videos of the crowds emerging on social media, which left many questioning the growing obsession with anything that comes for free. As the videos made the rounds on social media, opinions remained divided. While some praised the restaurant’s gesture, others criticised what they described as a “freebie mindset”, with many …

Lucky draw for women, bicycles for girls, pilgrimage tours: Freebies distribution by candidates at its peak as PMC polls draw closer | Pune News

Lucky draw for women, bicycles for girls, pilgrimage tours: Freebies distribution by candidates at its peak as PMC polls draw closer | Pune News

Published by Parlour News

With the Pune Municipal Corporation elections around the corner, several wards across the city are witnessing a sharp rise in the distribution of freebies by candidates, along with the organisation of cultural programmes and public events. One notable instance occurred in Lohegaon-Dhanori, where Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Shashikant Tingre, representing the Ajit Pawar group, announced a lucky draw scheme that offers 11 women the chance to win one guntha of land each. Forms were collected for the draw, which Tingre described as a gift for his ‘Ladaki Bahin’, referring to women supporters. Similar trends were observed in the Bavdhan-Bhusari colony area, where BJP candidate Kiran Dagade Patil has offered free pilgrimage trips to residents of the ward. Promotional posts on his social media accounts highlight trips to religious destinations such as Sajjangad and Ujjain. He has also organised inter-society sports competitions with enticing prizes. Besides, a cultural programme featuring the Folk Prabodhan Band was organised in the area. During the event, 500 girls were given bicycles, while several women received sewing machines. Residents say …