CPI leader D Raja on Thursday urged Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to desist from approval of commercialisation of GM mustard hybrid. Raja said the move of the Government in “hurried and secretive manner” is against the orders of the Supreme Court and Central Information Commission.
“Communist Party of India has resisted the entry of GMOs into our food and agriculture for reasons given that this transgenic technology is unsafe, carries its own political economy of taking away farmers’ seed sovereignty, jeopardises our national food security and is clearly risky for our farm livelihoods. The move to introduce GM crops into Indian food and farming systems is not in the interest of our agriculture and the country,” said Raja.
“In this context, I write to you to ask the Government to first share all the data on this GMO in the public domain. I also request you to intervene and ensure that the regulators do not proceed further - this cannot be treated as a routine administrative process, and should be treated as a matter of policy and political decision-making by the government since the matter has huge implications for our environmental and public health, as well as food and livelihood security,” he added.