The Congress on Saturday hit out at the Government over the ban on the export of wheat, saying it was an "anti-farmer" measure as it deprives farmers of reaping the benefit of higher export prices.
Asked about the government's move at a press conference during Congress' ongoing 'Chintan Shivir' in Udaipur, former Finance Minister P Chidambaram said, "I presume that it is because the Central Government has failed to procure enough wheat. It is not that wheat production has come down, it is more or less the same. In fact, it may be marginally more."
Chidambaram said that on Friday, a Chhattisgarh minister had told him that the government there had procured 97 lakh tonnes of paddy.
If procurement had taken place, there would not have been any need to ban the export of wheat, he said.
"But let me add, banning the export of wheat is an anti-farmer measure. It deprives the farmer of reaping the benefits of higher export prices. It is an anti-farmer measure and I am not surprised, this government has never been very friendly to the farmer," Chidambaram said.
Asserting that the state of India's economy is a cause of "extreme concern", Chidambaram further mentioned by taking into account global and domestic developments, it may be necessary to contemplate a reset of economic policies.
“State of Indian economy cause of extreme concern, job situation has never been worse,” Chidambaram said.
“The government appears clueless on the ways to deal with these developments. USD 22 billion has flowed out of the country in the last 7 months. The foreign exchange reserves have depleted by USD 36 billion. The exchange rate stands at Rs 77.48 to a dollar, the highest ever.He also mentioned that job situation has never been worse. “The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) is at a historic low of 40.38 per cent and the unemployment rate stands at 7.83 per cent. Henceforth we reiterate our charge that social services expenditure as a proportion of total expenditure has fallen to an average of 5 per cent (in 8 years) from an average of 9 per cent in the 10 years between 2004 and 2014.
Later, the Congress' committee on farmers and agriculture, chaired by former Haryana chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, submitted a report in the Chintan Shivir comprising of nine salient features including indebtedness of farmers, questions of legal guarantee of MSP, Climate changes effect on agriculture, direct transfer benefits, doubling of farmers income, PM Fasal Bima Yojana, Institutional Credit Investment, Green Revolution and Livestock and Horticulture.
Party leaders Shaktisinh Gohil, T.S. Singhdeo, Nana Patole, Pratap Singh Bajwa and Dr. Akhilesh Prasad Singh addressed the media on the issue.
