Govt faces flak for import of wheat

New Delhi, May 18 (UNI) The government came under sharp criticism in the Rajya Sabha today for its decision to import wheat.

Participating in a short discussion on the 'Import of Wheat and Agrarian Distress', BJP leader Kalraj Mishra charged the government with colluding with MNCs in artificially creating a scarcity of wheat. He said the decision to import wheat would aggravate the already prevailing agrarian distress forcing a large number of farmers to commit suicide in the country.

He said the MNCs, after getting licences, were procuring wheat from Indian farmers at their doorstep at a low rate so the farmers do not go to the government procurement centres. Later on, the government is importing wheat through the same MNC at a higher price, he pointed out and said this indicated a nexus between the two.

Mr Mishra said a large number of farmers were facing debt trap due to high interest rate which forced them to commit suicide. He said the government decision to import wheat would ruin the farmers who are already facing a lot of hardships. The government should desist from hatching such ''conspiracy against farmers''.

The BJP leader said despite Congress president Sonia Gandhi publicly disapproving the decision to import wheat, the government was planning to import wheat of bad quality from Australia which has many foreign plant diseases and this was regrettable. Forty years after the green revolution, the present government was planning to make India again dependent on foreign foodgrain which was regrettable. He urged the government to desist from importing wheat.

Initiating the debate, CPI(M) leader Tapas Kumar Sen said farmers' suicide was the single most revealing indicator of the large scale agrarian distress being faced by the people. Though officially about 8900 farmers committed suicide since 1992, unofficial estimates were that over 25,000 farmers ended their life after falling in debt trap.

Pointing out that both agricultural growth and investment in agriculture have declined during the past many years, Mr Sen said it reflected the economic approach of various governments.

He said the cost of agriculture production was increasing and price was collapsing leading to hardships to farmers. However, a class of middlemen has arisen which was taking all the benefit.

He said during the past four years, India was exporting wheat at a price lower than being made available to BPL families in the country and now it has decided to import the commodity. He said the decision to import wheat has been taken under international pressure and was not in the interest of the country. Urging the government to reverse the policy, he said otherwise it would have adverse impact on the economy of the country.

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