The Hindu : Kerala / Kochi News : CPI(ML) criticises cut in grain subsidy

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Jan 09, 2006

Kerala

Kerala - Kochi

CPI(ML) criticises cut in grain subsidy

Special Correspondent

It is in accordance with WTO dictates

KOCHI: The Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) has alleged that the heavy cut in rice and wheat subsidy by the Union Government is in accordance with the dictates of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Party's State secretary K. Sivaraman said the sixth ministerial conference of the WTO in Hong Kong had decided to scrap food subsidy. In line with India's commitment to the WTO, the Government had now raised the prices of rice and wheat supplied through the public distribution system (PDS) by 85 paise and 95 paise, respectively, he said.

This violated the Common Minimum Programme commitment of the United Progressive Alliance Government that the PDS would be strengthened. This also exposed fallacy of Union Commerce Minister Kamal Nath's claim that the Indian negotiators, headed by him, had championed the cause of developing countries at the recent ministerial conference.

The Minister's statement that lakhs of undeserved people benefited from food subsidy, Mr. Sivaraman said, indicated that there was a move on to dismantle the PDS.He warned that the increase in the foodgrain price would trigger serious socio-economic disasters in Kerala.

`No debate'

Our Thrissur Staff Correspondent reports

K.N. Ramachandran, secretary of the Communist Party of India-Marxist-Leninist (CPI-ML) has expressed concern over what he calls the lack of a proper debate in Parliament on the recent understanding reached at the World Trade Organisation (WTO) ministerial meeting in Hong Kong. At a press conference here on Friday, Mr. Ramachandran said the Hong Kong declaration indicated that the Indian and Brazilian delegations betrayed the alliance of 110 underdeveloped nations and had pushed them into a trap laid by developed-imperialist countries.

Even the decision of the U.S. to enhance subsidy on cotton exports from $400 to $470 was left unchallenged at the conference, though the main reason for pauperisation and widespread suicide of cotton farmers in underdeveloped countries was the discriminatory export subsidy regime of the U.S. in cotton trade.

He alleged that the Hong Kong understanding was against the interest of underdeveloped countries

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