Misleading Statements

S Jeevananda Reddy

PM Modi in Lok Sabha said that progressive society always embraces reforms with changing times. What Respected Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi emphasises is to implement Bharatiya Janata Party [BJP] Agenda "Corporatize—Privatize" India and thus keep more than 80% of Indians below poverty. What Indians need is not cell phones.

Late PM of India, Atal Behari Vajpayee speaking at the University of Mauritius has expressed serious concern about the "worrisome impacts" of globalisation, which he said has resulted in increasing inequality both within and between nations. He also expressed concern on the growing trends of mergers and acquisitions that are threatening both competition and freedom of choice. He also highlighted that huge global corporations enjoy sufficient financial clout to erode the regulatory powers of developing nations and ride roughshod over the rights of individuals to determine their future and thus it has increased income inequalities.

According to Global Hunger Index 2019, India stands at 102 out of 117 countries falls below Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan. India's performance over 2014-2019 is dismal even with excess production. However, top business houses were rescued by the Finance Ministry by wasting lashes of crores of public money. Some of them have run away from India with huge debts to Indian Banks—i.e., to Indian public. Government simply watched this. Some of the politicians from other parties joined Bharatiya Janata Party( BJP ) to escape from the clutches of law. However, at the same time PM in Lok Sabha stressed the private sector's vital role in the economy and said the culture of abusing it for votes is no longer acceptable and bats for private role in economy, asks why babus are running PSUs. If the public sector is important, the role of the private sector is also vital. Wealth creators are a necessity for the country as only then wealth can be redistributed to help the poor. He expressed what can be achieved by handing over the nation to babus (government officials).

One can ask Respected Prime Minister, Sir, Your government on many occasions rescued RIL, through which Ambani became the 4th richest person in the world—from this wealth who benefitted, politicians or common man in India? But on the contrary poor lost their hard earned money; at the same time, while people fought and got Steel Plant at Visakhapatnam and your government with tacit support of TDP government after bifurcation of the AP state proposed to gift it to private sector instead of rescuing it by providing what present AP CM wrote in a letter, Sir, to you. Is this factor not served the nation building? Are the babus are not Indians? Are babus not young when they joined government services? Is the government not running by babus including PM's office? Are the budgets not prepared by babus? etc. Sir, why not tell to the nation, your government wanted to implement "Corporatize—privatize" India? It is as simple as this.

There are several public sector units running in to national building in several sectors. Respected Prime Minister of India also raised the role of private sector in Covid-19. In fact, babus played major role in this period and not the pharma. In fact India used to have excellent public sector Pharma units like IDPL. These were killed with government's apathy; and those worked in those started their own industries and minting thousands of crore along with created air and water pollution and creating new health hazards. Gujarat state is the worst polluting state according to CPCB index.

 In several states people have not elected BJP to rule but they are ruling against the peoples' mandate. Even in Rajya Sabha BJP has no majority but people to serve their vested interests supporting BJP against the peoples' mandate.

 Respect PM says that "New farm laws optional, don't take away provisions that existed prior to their being legislated. If that is the case why people need Agree Bills? If that is the case why people need clause by clause discussion with farmers and could make changes to the farm laws. Clause by Clause has no meaning as for as farmers are concerned, as the basic structure of the laws are not going to be changed. But on the contrary farmers are asking scrapping of the three agri bills and asking for legal status to minimum support price--- MSP.

Respected PM Modi said in Rajya Sabha that MSP was there, is there and will remain in the future. Earlier PM said that the Agri Bills will be kept in abeyance for 18 months—though the Supreme Court has already put a stay on them. In real terms all these have "ZERO" impact on CONTRACT FARMING, HOARDINGS, MSP, etc. The reality of this is clearly evident from a report dated 25th January 2021 "Telangana farmers lose as traders buy cheap paddy from other states for export". If the MSP is Rs. 1,885 per quintal in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, it is around Rs. 1,650 in other states. The difference in price gives a huge advantage to exporters as well as consumers abroad. Paddy is exported from India to 170 countries. This clearly shows the fundamental fallacy of "One Nation—One Agriculture Market" in three Agri Bills of 2020. This works for corporate houses to exploit farmers. Also, imports—exports, PDS goods entering black market, etc. automatically MSP will be effected. There are stories wherein US government to protect the farmers from slump, it used to buy and dump in ocean.

What farmers needed is appropriate technology-action plans, strengthening of agricultural departments at centre and at state levels; and rescue from the disasters-distresses. Take for example: 11 AP farmers end lives in last 2 months—most were into Cotton, Chilli cultivation due to debt and crop losses across Krishna & Guntur districts in the last two months. Recent trends in farmer suicides across the two districts reveal most were either cultivating cotton or chilli, both of which suffered severe damage due to excess and unseasonal rainfall last season. However, majority of them are tenant farmers who put heavy investment on these two crops by barrowing from private lenders expecting huge profits. There are several reports dealt on cotton related suicides in five Bt-Cotton growing states, which BJP government supported/supporting.

In the last two decades Himalayan Mountains received heavy snowfall and thus this reflects more energy coming from the Sun and thus it causes cooling effect and not warming effect as some vested groups, running for green fund, propaganda.

With the Polavaram project and Godavari Projects in TS, the temperature will come down around these regions with increased levels of water vapour in the atmosphere that reduces incoming radiation. This scenario is seen in Punjab, Hadrian, UP surroundings—decreasing trend in temperature. This is the reality.

[jeevananda_reddy@yahoo.com]

Back to Home Page

Frontier
Vol. 53, No. 37, Mar 14 - 20, 2021