New Delhi, Feb. 13 -- The Supreme Court on Wednesday criticised the practice of parties announcing "freebies" before elections, warning that such measures might discourage people from working and contributing to the nation's development, while creating a class of "parasites". The observations have reignited debate around pre-election freebies, which are currently under judicial scrutiny in another matter before Supreme Court. In recent years, both Union government and state governments have launched a slew of schemes involving direct transfers. P12...