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Communists to move court on WTO treaty

Krittivas Mukherjee in Calcutta

The communists are set to take the Union government to court over the signing of the World Trade Organisation agreement on agriculture.

The communists are livid that the Centre did not consult state governments before signing the WTO treaty on agriculture, and have decided to move the country's Supreme Court for redressal.

"By signing this agreement, the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government has invited disaster for the agriculture sector," Buddhadeb Bhattacharya, veteran communist leader and West Bengal Chief Minister, said.

The communists argue the WTO agreement on agriculture is against the interest of poor farmers and would destroy the country's agricultural diversity.

"Our farmers would be devastated once imported seeds, especially those of paddy, are dumped in our country at prices beyond their reach," Bhattacharya said.

Bhattacharya said he would petition the Supreme Court against the central government's 'unilateral' decision. "The Centre had no right to ignore the opinion and the interests of the provinces. Agriculture is a state subject and the state governments were not consulted."

Bhattacharya claimed that several non-communist state governments have also supported his stand. He said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa had sent him her opinion on the matter, but he did not give details.

"I'm in touch with several of them (state governments) and I will disclose their names at the right moment," Bhattacharya said.

The communists claim the federal government had contravened provisions of the constitution by not consulting the state governments on the international agreement on agriculture.

Even if Bhattacharya moves the Supreme Court on the matter it would have little effect on the WTO agreement that India has already signed.

Bhattacharya almost admitted that the legal proceedings now could hardly affect the international protocol.

"I want the Supreme Court to say whether Delhi has acted legally while signing an agreement on a subject directly related to the rights of the states as far as our constitution is concerned," he said.

The court case could be filed by the West Bengal government alone or by a group of 'like-minded states' early next month. Chief ministers of non-BJP-ruled states would meet in Delhi on September 2 to discuss the federal government's proposed education policy and the WTO treaty.

Indo-Asian News Service

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