Taking a very critical view towards governments relying heavily on freebies to achieve political gains, former Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu took strong exception to the Southern state government in Andhra Pradesh providing free bus travel for women.
Referring to free bus travel schemes in Karnataka, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, he questioned the need for such a scheme, He especially questioned the huge borrowings by governments for freebies and underscored the need for governments to prioritise spending on education and healthcare.
“Education creates opportunities for people to earn a living on their own terms, while access to healthcare is a fundamental right,” he said. He said that if the governments are providing free schemes, there is nothing wrong with people taking them.
He asked to put an end to this culture. Venkaiah said that no one is saying no to free schemes. But, he advised that people should be taught how to fish and criticized the governments for bringing fish and giving them for free.
Venkaiah Naidu strongly objected that free schemes have now crossed the limits and that it has become a habit to implement them for temporary political gains. He said that if huge debts are incurred due to these, the development of the state will be at risk.
Venkaiah suggested that the government should announce a white paper on debts in the state. He also asked what is the benefit of the free bus scheme. He questioned AP, Telangana and Karnataka, which are implementing it.
Sharing his views on the proceedings in the Legislative Assembly and Parliament, he condemned the use of unparliamentary language and suggested that MPs and MLAs should be trained in proper conduct inside the House. “Those who use derogatory language in the House must be suspended. Action should also be taken against those who defect from one political party to another,” he stated.
Venkaiah Naidu also suggested that when public representatives defect from parties, they should resign from their own parties. He also wanted the constitution to be amended to this extent. He objected that ministers were becoming ministers by defecting from parties. He also asked that criminal cases against public representatives be completed quickly and punishment should be imposed.