Ramesh loses cool during debate on Bt brinjal

High drama marked the first public consultation over the controversial commercialisation of Bt brinjal—a genetically modified version of the vegetable— with Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh getting livid at an agitated participant whom he threatened to throw out.

The discussions convened by Ramesh with the experts at the Bose Institute in the Left-ruled state over the introduction of Bt became stormy after several members from diverse groups openly voiced their strong opposition.

Ramesh has initiated a country-wide public discussion on Bt Brinjal in a bid to arrive at a consensus and will submit his report to the Centre in the middle of the next month. The consultations will be held in six cities. Bt brinjal was cleared for commercial production by the country’s bio-technology regulator last year. At one stage, Ramesh stormed out of the podium with microphone in hand to confront an unidentified man who kept interrupting him while he was coming out with his views on the subject. The participant was reported to be a scientist.

Ramesh, who lost his cool, told the man not to get worked up and asked him to listen to his views patiently.

“The next time you interrupt me I will throw you out,” an enraged Ramesh pointedly told the scientist and looked towards the exit door.

Ramesh’s threat enraged a section of the participants who shouted down the minister. The meeting was attended by stakeholders including scientists, agriculture experts, farmer organisations, consumer groups and NGOs who have been opposing the genetically modified brinjal.

Ramesh brought the discussions to a close after taking some shots at the Left-ruled state. “Ambience was like everything in West Bengal. Ambience was you know full of life. Everybody had an opinion, everybody wanted to talk, but nobody wanted to listen,” he said.