Welfare schemes help uplift weaker sections, can't be termed freebies: DMK

Welfare schemes provide uplift of weaker sections and cannot be described as "freebies", the DMK has told the Supreme Court.

Opposing the plea filed by lawyer Ashwini Upadhyay seeking action against political parties for promising freebies during elections, the DMK said the petition is "politically motivated" as the petitioner belongs to a political party which was locked in a political battle during Punjab elections at the time of filing this PIL.

It alleged the present petition lacks merit and is filed to settle political scores with another rival political party in Punjab.

"The yardstick to be applied for classifying a welfare scheme to be a 'freebie' cannot be so rigid that every service provided by the government to its citizens be termed as a freebie.

"If such a meaning is applied, it would render all government facilities such as education, healthcare to be freebies, which is unconscionable," submissions filed by senior advocate P Wilson on behalf of DMK, said.

The DMK said