Chennai (PTI): The BJP on Sunday said US President George W Bush's comments that global food shortage was due to increasing demand from India's middle class for quality food, was aimed at mounting pressure on India to accept the agricultural practices propounded by the country.

Bush was trying to put the blame on India, instead of having a look at his country's policies and the way rich countries were managing globalisation, senior BJP leader Murli Manohar Joshi told reporters here

"Instead of agriculture, they have gone for agri-business. America's diversion of corn to produce ethanol and trading practices have resulted in acute food shortage," he said, adding that the major objective of the Western food policy was to keep a large number of countries dependent on them.

"Our Prime Minister has already entered into an agreement with the US on agricultural sector and it's unfortunate that the Centre has not come out openly to discuss the agreement."

Joshi said the Centre has already appointed a board, with representatives from Monsanto and Wal-Mart in it, to implement the provisions of the agreement. "However, both multinational companies do not have any knowledge on the Indian agricultural sector," he said.

He alleged that the economic policies framed after the 1990s was one of the main reasons for rising inflation and acute food shortage in India and demanded that the policies be reviewed.

"We should have a re-look at the fundamentals of the country's agri-policy. The Indian agriculture sector should not be completely linked with the international agricultural market," he said.