Government’s stand on rice import lacks transparency: CPI-M

KOLKATA, Nov 22: The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) on Sunday said the Central Government’s decision to import rice lacked transparency. In an editorial in daily Ganashakti, its Bengali mouthpiece, the CPI-M accused the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) Government of taking a casual approach to the fall in rice production and not helping farmers hit by this. “The Prime Minister, the Finance Minister and the Agriculture and Food Minister have repeatedly assured the people that there was no cause for worry as the country had a good stock of food grains, and that there was no danger of any food crisis. But now the government is publicly talking about importing rice,” the editorial said. “In fact, over the last few months, the government has been clandestinely preparing to import rice. It is obvious that the government’s stand lacked transparency,” it added. According to the CPI-M, the Central Government too no step to arrest the fall in crop production, and said: “It did not lay any importance on the probable consequences.” The editorial also said farmers were suffering because of the fall in production, and that the “government has not taken any steps to safeguard their interests”. It noted India was the world’s second largest producer and leading exporter of rice, and did not have to import it in the last two-three decades. “In the recent past, the country did not have to import rice. But this time we have to do so. This is a matter of concern,” the daily added. (IANS)