In July 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, while inaugurating the Bundelkhand Expressway in Orai, Uttar Pradesh, warned against the practice of distributing freebies for votes, calling this ‘revdi culture’ ‘very dangerous’ for India’s development. His words resonated with economists and taxpayers worried about fiscal health.

Yet, three years later, the same culture has not only persisted but become institutionalised, with parties — including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — competing in electoral auctions of subsidies, waivers, and cash transfers.

The latest example is a ₹7,500-crore sop to women ahead of the Bihar elections, raising the obvious question: has Modi’s critique been reduced to rhetoric, where he’s embracing the very politics he denounced? Even the Supreme Court has repea

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