Spending on health, education can’t be freebies: Tamil Nadu CM

Chennai : Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Saturday said the expenditure incurred by the government on education and health cannot be construed as freebies and stated such measures were being extended to the poor and those living on the fringes.
He also took an apparent swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi for opposing freebies but said he did not want to talk much about it as “it will become politics.” In fact, the Supreme Court has said freebies and welfare schemes were different, Stalin said in an event at the Arumigu Kapaleeswarar Arts and Science College in his Kolathur constituency here.
“The expenditure on education and health cannot be freebies because education is about knowledge while medicine relates to health. This government wants to implement adequate welfare schemes in both these sectors,” he said.
Also Read Freebie culture deteriorating states’ financial health: Venkaiah Naidu Listing out the initiatives in Health and Education, including those delivered on doorsteps, Stalin said “these are not freebies (but) social welfare schemes.” “These are implemented to benefit the poor and those on the fringes,’ he said.