Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Delhi Prime Minister Arvind Kejriwal was giving a “perverse twist” to the debate on freebies. Amid the ongoing debate on freebies, Sitharaman lashed out at Kejriwal, saying: “The Delhi Prime Minister has taken a perverse turn on the freebies debate. Health and education were never called freebies. No Indian government has ever denied them.”

“By categorizing education and health as giveaways, Kejriwal is trying to instill a sense of concern and fear in the minds of the poor. There should be a real debate on this matter,” Sitharaman told reporters, adding that both health and education are welfare state principles.

Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi kicked off the debate on rewari culture (giveaways) given out by parties to achieve political gains. In an apparent mockery of the Aam Aadmi party’s populist promises ahead of the elections, Prime Minister Modi said “Rewari culture” was dangerous for the country.

Speaking to the people of Bundelkhand after the inauguration of Bundelkhand Expressway last month, PM Modi said: “There are efforts to create a culture of vote-collecting through giveaways in the country. Those who promote it will never build expressways, airports and defense corridors for you. They’re just going to try to buy your votes.”

AAP, which is trying to gain a foothold in Gujarat’s upcoming general election, has upped the ante against Prime Minister Modi’s comments.

Kejriwal also criticized the central government’s handling of the economy earlier today and expressed concerns about reducing the state tax share and cutting the MNREGA allocation, among other things. In a televised statement, Kejriwal said: “The center collects taxes including £3.5 billion a year on petrol and diesel. But it is against free education and health care. Why does the center cite a lack of funds to pay pensions to soldiers? ? Something seems to be wrong with central government finances.”