August 10, 2014
PM insistent that Indian government will not back down to global pressure where interests of its farmers are concerned
August 10, 2014
PM insistent that Indian government will not back down to global pressure where interests of its farmers are concerned
New Delhi: In the strongest defence so far on India’s stand at the WTO, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the BJP’s national council on Saturday that where Indian farmers’ interests are concerned, he does not fear defying the developed world.
The PM was speaking at a meeting of the BJP’s national council which formally elected Amit Shah as the party president on Saturday morning.
According to the BJP’s newly-elected president Amit Shah, this was part of the “participatory democracy” initiative where the BJP will act as a medium to connect the Government with the people.
Modi was most emphatic about WTO negotiations where India’s refusal to compromise on its demand for a permanent solution to the issue of food stocks and subsidies has blocked a trade facilitation agreement at the WTO.
Though developed countries, especially the US and the EU, have attacked India, the new Government has refused to budge till a permanent solution is found to the issue of food stocking and subsidy caps. India wants to protect its subsidy programme from any retaliatory action if the WTO cap on stockpiling is breached, he said.
“What were the options before me – should I covet international acclaim and fancy articles written on me in the newspapers and surrender the interests of the Indian farmers? Or should I take a stand in the interest of India’s poor even if it means turning the world opinion against me? It is not really a choice, is it? We are the same people who braved the world’s scorn when we tested the nuclear weapons. We did not succumb then and we are not about to succumb now,” Modi said.
Courtesy: Hindu Business Line
