CPM against Centre's move to import Wheat

Tiruchirapalli, Aug 6 (UNI) Communist Party of India (Marxist) today strongly criticized the Centre's move to import Wheat and termed it '' Mis-Management of the Government'' that would help directly the big traders in the country.

Addressing a Press Conference here, CPM Polit Bureau Member Brinda Karat said the CPM did not agree with Union Minister for Agriculture Sharad Pawar's statement in defence of the decision to import Wheat.

She said there is no shortage of Wheat in India. The production of wheat for the last several years had been stagnating at around 70 million tonne. This year, it was around 69 million tonne.

The problem is not with any fall in the production of wheat. The problem was because of non procurement for the public distribution system, she claimed.

She charged that the changes made in the agricultural marketing produce act, allowed big traders to go to the most remote villages and pickup wheat from the farmers. But, the Food Corporation of India (FCI) was not allowed to do so. The big traders were allowed to procure wheat from the farmers at a rate which was above the government price. Therefore, the farmers preferred to sell wheat to them, instead of transporting their produce to FCI specially in the face of hiked fuel prices.

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