It's a disaster for farm sector: Gowda

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, APRIL 3. The former Prime Minister and President of the Janata Dal (Secular), Mr. H. D. Deve Gowda, today criticised the new Exim Policy announced by the Centre on March 31 and said it was a retrograde step and would hit the agricultural sector hard.

He told presspersons here that by abolishing the Quantitative Restrictions (QRs) on the import of a number of food products, the BJP-led NDA Government at the Centre had dealt a death blow to the agriculture sector.

He said the Centre, by abolishing the QR on import of as many as 714 items, had only demonstrated that it had buckled under pressure from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

He said the measure would lead to throttling of the agriculture sector, severely affect the rural poor and result in economic chaos. The dwindling employment opportunities and alarming rise in rural poverty would be disastrous to the fiscal health of the country.

Mr. Deve Gowda warned that the poor and the neglected in the country might even revolt against the oppressing economic situation. The lack of subsidy in the agricultural sector would further affect the already grim situation in food production. If more food items were allowed to be imported, it would cause an irreparable damage to the country's agricultural sector, he warned.

Mr. Gowda said the economic reforms initiated in 1991 was a ``gift of the Congress(I) Government''. The BJP, which was in the Opposition then, was very vocal in opposing the economic reforms saying that it was detrimental to ``Swadeshi economics.'' The BJP, which was reciting the mantra of Swadeshi, not only opposed the economic reforms but also staged a dharna in the Lok Sabha against reforms. The very same party, now in power, was spearheading the ``Videshi economics'' and freely allowing the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to dictate terms, he added.

Mr. Gowda said the Union Government had, in a sinister manner, finalised its economic policy at the time of finalising the visit of the President of the United States, Mr. Bill Clinton, under pressure from the World Bank and the IMF. It was only a formality and it had fulfilled its promise to the IMF and WB soon after the visit of Mr. Clinton, he charged.

Quoting extensively from ``Asian Affairs'', a highly reputed journal carrying economic analysis of Asian countries, Mr. Deve Gowda said while the United States Government had formulated its WTO policy only after obtaining advise from as many as 3,000 experts and after wide public debate, the NDA Government had taken an important economic policy decision bypassing even Parliament. It was a deliberate intention to avoid public exposure, he said.

He said the blanket removal of Quantitative Restrictions on a number of vital food articles, including milk, milk products, tea, coffee, wheat, vegetables and nuts, would have disastrous consequences.

Mr. Gowda said the worst affected in the industrial sector were small units. While 80 per cent of the small-scale industries had already been closed, the new Exim Policy would wipe out the remaining, he added.

He said there was an alarming increase in rural poverty with the figure reaching 40 per cent and the percentage of unemployment had shot up from 1.7 to 12 per cent. The only way to check popular uprising against the ``anti-people economic policy of the Centre'' was to revive subsidy in the agriculture sector, extend export incentive to farm produce and set up an Agricultural Price Stabilisation Fund. The Congress(I) was faced with a ``Catch 22'' situation as while some Congressmen were for economic reforms at any cost, others were against it, he said.

Referring to the steep increase in prices of foodgrains supplied through the public distribution system and the State Government's attitude towards it, Mr. Gowda ridiculed the KPCC(I)'s decision to organise a protest rally in the city against the increase.

Mr. Gowda said his party would organise protests against the economic policies of the Centre and mobilise public opinion in this regard.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Regional
Previous : Assembly debate on PWG evokes little interest
Next     : Judge discharged from service