KALIA comes under SC lens

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New Delhi: The Supreme Court Tuesday issued notice to the state government for implementing direct cash transfer scheme, Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA), to benefit small farmers, cultivators and landless agricultural labours before 2019 Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.
A three-judge bench of the apex court headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi also issued notice to the Election Commission, Union of India, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Jharkhand and Telangana for implementing direct cash transfer schemes before the elections to attract voters in large numbers and asked them to file their responses.
The apex court issued notice in response to a petition filed by Dr Pentapati Pullarao. The petitioner pleaded in the court to issue directions declaring the implementation of direct cash transfer scheme before elections as unconstitutional. He said public money was used to bribe voters during and ahead of elections. Pullarao’s counsels, Santosh Pal and Sarvan Kumar, contended that direct cash transfer schemes and announcement of freebies ahead of the polls amount to electoral malpractice.
“We have filed a petition against Odisha government for implementing KALIA scheme, Union of India for PM Kishan, Andhra Pradesh for Pasupu Kumkuma scheme, Telangana for Rythu Bandhu schemes, West Bengal and Jharkhand for similar schemes to attract voters before the elections,” said Advocate on Record Hitendranath Rath. Another advocate appeared in the matter Shravan Kumar said just before the enforcement of the model code of conduct the state governments and the Centre started the direct cash transfer schemes to get benefits in the elections.
The petitioner has also sought a direction to the poll panel to fix a minimum time, preferably six months before announcement of the election schedule, for political parties in power to implement schemes such as Direct Cash Transfer and welfare schemes which may impact free and fair elections.
He also referred to the apex court’s 2013 judgment in Subramanium versus State of Tamil Nadu in which there was a direction for the Election Commission to frame guidelines for regulating grant of freebies by government on the eve of elections to ensure free, fair and level playing field.