Discussion on Bt brinjal hits the road

The issue of cultivation of BT brinjal is important for West Bengal as the state accounts for nearly 30 per cent of brinjal production — 27,000 tonnes — in the country. On October 14,the Genetic Engineering Approval Commitee (GEAC) had given its nod for commercial cultivation of BT brinjal after nearly seven years of research.

The Ministry of Environment and Forest had then initiated a public discussion on the issue.

On Wednesday,the minister chaired nearly a four-hour discussion with scientists,farmers and various rights oganisations on the issue at the lecture hall of the Bose Institute. At one point the protests turned so loud that the minister even threatened to quit. “If you don’t behave,I will leave. Either you leave or I leave,” he said when the participants slammed Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) scientist K C Bansal,who was arguing in favour of cultivation of BT brinjal.

Scientists and farmers came out with suggestions on various aspects of the issue and submitted their written plea to the minister.

Most of them were against cultivation of the genetically modified (GM) crop. Some scientists opined that there is nothing wrong in it but the government should be more cautious.

While Ramesh was listening to the views,protestors took to the streets with posters and placards saying ‘BT brinjal go back’. Towards the end of the discussion,the minister himself came out and pacified the protectors who were demonstrating on the road.

Ramesh said that had he been an agent of Mansento,he would not have gone for public discussion on the issue and would have gone ahead with commercialisation of BT brinjal in October when the GEAC had approved its cultivation.

“Nobody has a monopoly on truth. I hope that the discussion would be true to the scientific spirit and spirit of questioning… Through the discussion I am not judging the future of BT technology but want a limited feedback on what is next on BT brinjal,” said Ramesh.

The minister also said that he has written to all the chief ministers of the country seeking their views on the issue. Kerala,Madhya Pradesh,Bihar and Orissa have rejected the proposal. Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee in a letter to the Union minister had expressed his concerns over the issue in November 2008.