KCR promises 'free electricity' to farmers amid freebies debate under THIS condition

All farmers of the country will get free electricity if a non-BJP government is elected at the Centre in 2024, K Chandrashekar Rao (KCR) announced on Monday. The remark comes amid KCR's efforts to form a pan-India front against the BJP juggernaut.

"After the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, we will see a non-BJP flag being unfurled in India. Our government will be formed in Delhi. From Nizamabad today, I am announcing free power supply to all the farmers in the country if a non-BJP government comes to power," said KCR, addressing a rally. 

Ever since KCR defeated an aggressive BJP in the Telangana Assembly elections in 2019, he has been meeting opposition leaders to build a consensus over the proposed front. His most recent meeting regarding this was with Nitish Kumar, who last month dumped BJP and formed a government in alliance with RJD's Tejashwi Yadav. After quitting NDA, Kumar had said he would also attempt to stitch an alliance of like-minded parties against the JP Nadda-led party. 

Apart from KCR and Kumar, Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee also launched similar efforts after she stopped BJP in its tracks last year in West Bengal. She has been trying to enhance her party's footprints outside of bastion Bengal to realize her national ambitions. Her party has been taking potshots at Congress and is fashioning itself as its alternative. 

The biggest roadblock in the formation of such a front is the question of leadership. Banerjee, KCR, and now even Kumar are reportedly fancying themselves as spearheading the Opposition's alliance. 

Prime Minister Narendra Modi had recently spoken against the culture of doling out freebies, setting up a confrontation with political parties with enormous welfare programs. 

Telangana, which is ruled by KCR, has some of the best welfare schemes in the country. However, these projects exert intense pressure on the state's exchequer and finances.

The petition regarding whether freebies be allowed in the Indian democracy has reached the Supreme Court.

The court on August 26 referred the case to a three-judge bench observing that the issue requires a comprehensive judicial review. 

"The issues raised by parties require an extensive hearing. Certain preliminary hearings need to be determined, such as what is the scope of judicial intervention, whether the appointment of an expert body by the court serves any purpose, etc. Many parties also submitted that judgment in the Subramaniam Balaji case requires reconsideration. The Court in the said case held such practices would not amount to corrupt practices. Looking at the complexity of issues and the prayer to overrule Subramaniam Balaji case, we refer the matters to a three-judge bench," the bench stated in its order.

With inputs from ANI