JD(U) asks Nadda to stop lifting of ban on Khesari dal

JD(U) today opposed any decision to lift the 55-year-old ban on Khesari dal and sought Health Minister J P Nadda's intervention, alleging "vested interests" in central government and research organizations were behind the move.
Party general secretary K C Tyagi targeted Consumer Affairs Ministry headed by Ram Vilas Paswan for favouring lifting of ban on the pulse and claiming that it will help reduce pressure on pulses imports.
He also hit out at Agriculture Ministry headed by senior BJP leader from Bihar Radha Mohan Singh, accusing the government of resorting to this move due to "agriculture failure".
Paswan had on Thursday said,"I read in newspapers that three new varieties of Khesari dal have been developed. If these varieties prove to be fit for human consumption, I think its cultivation should be allowed. This will help reduce stress on pulses production and imports."

The Food Minister had also said he himself has eaten Khesari dal for 15 years and never had any health problems.
Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) plans to come out with a draft notification to allow three variants of Khesari dal following a green signal from Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR).

Agriculture Ministry said on Thursday that the government was promoting cultivation of three drought-resistant new varieties of khesari dal, with low neurotoxin ODAP content, in traditional areas.
Tyagi, however, alleged the recent proposal has nothing to do with the extra pulse production and arranging protein for the poor but "there seems to be the vested interests of the Consumers Ministry and other so-called research organisations".

Holding that the lifting of the ban could be "injurious" to health, he also wanted that the matter should be discussed in the coming Parliamentary session.
"This is to bring to your notice that the Indian Council of Medical Research has proposed to lift ban on the Khesari dal, which was banned in the year 1961 by Jawaharlal Nehru government as its consumption was linked to a neurological disorder called latheism.
The JD(U) leader alleged that as the government has not
succeeded in bringing up the production of pulses, the lifting of ban and introducing Khesari for public consumption is being used as "political tool to escape its agriculture failure".

"Such proposal, which affects public health directly, should never be taken into consideration by Government," he said alleging the government after "failing" to control prices of food commodities, now propose to allow cultivation of banned toxic Khesari dal in order to give cheap pulses to the poor.
He held that the proposal of the government will create a class differentiation. "Rich will consume Tur, arhar, moong and urad and the poor will restrict to Khesari only."
Tyagi told Nadda that being Health Minister, he should acknowledge "ill-effects" of Kheari dal and intervene into the matter. Tyagi urged him "not to give consent" to the draft notification for public consultations on the issue.

"This issue should not be dealt in a hurry and should be discussed in coming Parliament session," he said.