Congress, RJD stage walkout in Lok Sabha over wheat import

Congress, RJD stage walkout in Lok Sabha over wheat import
EXPRESS NEWS SERVICE

NEW DELHI, DEC 3: The Congress on Friday walked out of the House in protest against the Government's unsatisfactory response to its charge of importing wheat in a ``scandalous and reckless'' manner despite godowns being filled to capacity.

Soon after Zero Hour commenced, the House was plunged in an uproar when Congress deputy leader Madhavrao Scindia charged the Government of allowing the import of wheat, despite alarming notes given by the Agriculture Ministry and the Food Corporation of India (FCI), at prices much higher than what was prevailing in the domestic market.

After half an hour of pandemonium, agitated slogan-shouting Congress members along with those from Rashtriya Janata Dal and Muslim League walked out of the House in the ``absence of proper'' response from the Government.

The import of the commodity continued for six months beginning May this year, Scindia said, accusing the Government of having colluded with middlemen.

He demanded that a House committee be constituted to go into the``scandal'' and that the names of all the importers be tabled.

Responding to the Congress charge, Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar said the wheat import was the result of the liberalisation policy initiated by the Congress government and the commitment given by it to General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs (GATT).

Asserting that the Government had nothing to do with the wheat import, he said that it was not for the first time that the commodity was being imported and that traders were directly importing the commodity.

Deputy Speaker P M Sayeed repeatedly told the members that he could not compel the Government to respond during Zero Hour.

Later party spokesman Ajit Jogi reiterated the party's demand for a probe by a House committee. He told reporters that the decision to import wheat despite the warning of the then Agriculture Minister and the Food Corporation of India that its godowns were full suggests that there was corruption involving top people in Government.

Demanding that a list of thosegranted import permission should be made available to Parliament, he charged that the Government took the decision with some vested interests.

He also denied Agriculture Minister Nitish Kumar's reported remark that the decision on wheat import was taken by the previous Congress government.

``The refusal by the Government for a probe indicates that there is something wrong in the matter. That is why we are demanding a joint committee of the two houses to probe the matter,'' he said.