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The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday asked its Members of parliament to opt out of a week’s study tour to the United States, sponsored by seed giant Monsanto. Shiv Sena, its ally in the government at the Centre, remained tight-lipped on whether party MPs would remain a part of the delegation that departs on Saturday.
BJP spokesperson Nalin Kohli said no BJP MP would be part of the Monsanto-sponsored study tour to the US. “The party welcomes visits by MPs if these are part of a structured process as such tours help expand their knowledge base and provides them with requisite exposure. However, we believe the presence of party MPs on this visit might not be appropriate as the matter of GM (genetically modified) seeds is being reviewed by the government,” he said.
The Business Standard had reported on Friday how BJP and Sena MPs were heading to the US on a Monsanto-sponsored trip barely three weeks after the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government overruled field trials for 15 GM crops.
The delegation, which includes industry experts and media persons, is scheduled to visit the US from August 24 where it will first attend a ‘Farm Progress Show’ in Iowa and then visit the Monsanto headquarters in St Louis, Missouri.
BJP General Secretary Ram Madhav tweeted this morning that “No BJP MP will be a part of the delegation sponsored by Monsanto”. Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) Co-convener S Gurumurthy tweeted: “BJP leadership has conveyed to me that the BJP MPs told not to go on Monsanto tour. MPs told not to accept foreign tours without PMO yes.”
Swadeshi Jagran Manch, a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliated outfit, has been at the forefront of the campaign against GM crops. Its national convener Ashwani Mahajan welcomed the BJP’s move but said there was much more to the incident which needed investigation. “Just as the Intelligence Bureau investigates the source of funding to non-government organisation, so it should probe the likelihood of Monsanto having spent money on influencing Indian politicians and bureaucrats,” Mahajan said. He said those invited to such tours return and praise their hosts.
“Reports favourable to GM crops are written with quotes from these MPs and other experts. This is why we have been saying that there isn’t a single independent report on GM crops,” Mahajan claimed. On July 29, Environment and Forests Minister Prakash Javadekar overruled the recommendations of the Genetic Engineering Appraisal Committee (GEAC) and put a halt to the field trials of 15 GM crops, including brinjal and rice, after protests from the SJM and Bharatiya Kisan Sangh.
Former secretary to the government E A S Sarma, in a letter to the Union home secretary on Friday said MPs receiving funding and hospitality provided by Monsanto was violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, 2010 (FCRA).
He said the law prohibited members of the legislature from accepting any such hospitality, whether in cash or kind. Sarma requested the home secretary to initiate proceedings against Monsanto and all those involved in FCRA violation to safeguard the public interest.
Sarma said he would seek judicial intervention into the issue if the home ministry failed to act on his letter.
According to a Monsanto spokesperson, the trip will cost an estimated $6,000 (Rs 363,540) per head for travel, food and accommodation. Monsanto had extended invitations to MPs across the political spectrum to visit the show and experience for themselves the advances in agriculture.
“Monsanto has followed all the prescribed rules and regulations, as well as internationally mandated norms in engaging with stakeholders in this regard. This includes a transparent mechanism for bearing travel and accommodation expenses. We have been assured that the invited guests, on their part, have got necessary approvals from relevant authorities,” the spokesperson said.
Shiv Sena MPs Prataprao Ganapatrao Jadhav and Krupal Balaji Tumane and BJP MPs Bhola Singh, Om Prakash Yadav, Satish Gautam and some other MPs were part of the original delegation. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Rout, leader of Sena parliamentary party, told Business Standard that he was unaware that Sena MPs were part of the delegation.
