Govt. surrendered at WTO meet, says Congress

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, NOV. 16. The Congress today accused the Government of ``abject surrender'' at the WTO conference in Doha. The party spokesperson, Mr. Jaipal Reddy, said the Government strategy ``was a miserable flop'' and had saddled the country with a long- term and multi-diverse incubus.

Mr. Maran, who represented the country at the WTO conference, should have refused to sign the declaration, as the country had suffered a huge setback on every account, especially on the agriculture front, Mr. Jaipal Reddy said but clarified that this did not mean that the Congress was of the view that India should have walked out of the WTO.

Taking a dig at the ``high-decibel protests'' of Mr. Maran, Mr. Reddy said it was meant only for domestic consumption. The new round had been launched at Doha and the only solace was that the ``evil day'' had been postponed by two years.

Mr. Reddy said Europe had escaped the obligation of phasing out the agricultural subsidy, while the same could not be said of Indian farmers. India had lost in textiles, and on issues of environmental and labour standards and trade facilitation.

Mr. Reddy accused the Government of presenting Doha as a victory for its stand, while the reality was quite the reverse. Mr. Maran ``was mollified but India's interests were nullified'' said Mr. Reddy. He saw little merit in the Government's claim that it had forced a postponement on the four new issues. ``If this was all that they were looking for, then why this grand stand,'' asked Mr. Reddy.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : National
Previous : A setback to the nation: CPI(M)
Next     : Governor's role must be impartial, say CMs