Opinion Food security Bill: Separating wheat from chaff
As the Parliament session begins,it would be interesting to see how the food Bill debate pans out
As the Parliament session begins,it would be interesting to see how the food Bill debate pans out and what the stands parties take say about them.
Both the main ideological opponents of the ruling Congress the BJP and Left have sounded a discordant note. However,their objections are more perfunctory in nature than anything else.
The Left,which had so vehemently pushed the job scheme MNREGS as part of the first UPA government,realises the populism potential of the Bill being pushed by the Congress and so its demand is more generous food guarantees.
The BJPs objections are even more flimsy. It has demanded replication of the partys Chhattisgarh food security legislation at the national level without explaining why its other state governments have not done so.
The objections of both the fronts are not on the ground that the food Bill is bad in law. Their objection is that there could be a better and more generous provision,which is no argument at all. It smacks either of a lack of conviction or lack of a rival intellectual argument on part of the Congresss opponents.
It also allows these parties to perch themselves
conveniently at the fence,an eye out to see which way the wind is blowing.
Its the Samajwadi Party that is alone in sticking its neck out and calling the food Bill a bad move. The party contends that the benefits of cheap distribution of grains to two-thirds of the population would not be able to compensate for the adverse
impact on local grain markets,hitting farmers.
Coming from a food-surplus state and deriving his core political support from the grain-producing farming community,Mulayam Singh Yadav has so far decided to put them
foremost.
Knowing Mulayams flip-flops in Parliament in recent years,it is anybodys guess how long his party will persist with its opposition,but the SPs stance should be enough to spur
leaders or parties with stakes in food-surplus states,such as
Punjab,Haryana,Bihar and West Bengal,to put the spotlight away from grain distribution as promised by the Congress to the agrarian economy that is so crucial if this virtually universal food guarantee is to work. And its time this debate took this into view.
Ravish is a senior assistant editor based in Delhi
ravish.tiwari@expressindia.com
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