Posted on 05/03/2008 3:46:30 PM PDT by Shermy
All major political parties, including Congress, BJP and the Left, on Saturday lashed out at US President George W Bush for blaming growing demand in India for the spiralling global food prices as the opposition used the opportunity to attack the government.
Most parties said a major reason for spiralling global food prices was diversion of land producing foodcrops in the US to bio-fuel production, while Minister of State for Commerce Jairam Ramesh said Bush was "completely wrong" in his assessment.
"George Bush has never been known for his knowledge of economics. And he has just proved once again how comprehensively wrong he is. To say that the demand for food in India is causing increase in global good prices is completely wrong," Ramesh said.
Congress criticised the US President saying the analysis was "completely erroneous" as India was not a food importer but a food exporter.
"India is a not a net food importer. It is a food exporter. The assumption that local prices are increasing because of a changed India is completely erroneous," AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari said, adding "the crisis is actually because of diversion of arable land in the developed world for ethanol production and because of changes in the climate pattern".
While the Left parties blamed the "neoliberal economic policies imposed on India by the Bush administration", the BJP used the US President's statement to attack the Congress-led coalition at the Centre over its "failure" to control inflation.
"The statement by George Bush fixes into the frame of irrelevancy of the statements of the UPA ministers. It is the same like Praful Patel saying that price rise is due to change in food habits," BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar said.
He said there was bound to be greater demand for essential commodities as the economy grows and noted that it was the responsibility of planners and the Government to ensure food supply and control prices at the same time.
"At a time when millions of people in India are unable to get enough food to eat and suffer from malnutrition, Bush's insensible remarks about India's prosperity affecting global food prices are adding insult to injury," CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told PTI.
He said the US policy of subsidising and promoting biofuel out of crops was the major reason for the shortages and spurt in food prices. "This is what President Bush has sought to cover up."
CPI National Secretary D Raja blamed US policies for all major crises facing the world, particularly in energy and food sectors.
"The Bush Administration is trying to cover up its own fault by shifting the blame to developing countries. It is the US which has shifted agricultural production from foodgrains to bio-fuel, thereby creating food crisis and pushing up the prices," he said.
Raja described Bush's comment as "a kind of racial statement" which blames India and China for heightened demand.
The CPI leader said India grew its own food and did not "exploit other nations like US imperialism."
Bush joined US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in blaming the rising prosperity of India's huge middle class for the spiralling global food prices.
Prosperity in countries like India is "good" but it triggers increased demand for "better nutrition" which in turn leads to higher food prices, Bush said.
On the day that US President George Bush accused India’s growing prosperity of causing the global food crisis, Indian government officials said India can teach the US to sustain a biofuel programme without risking the country’s food security or causing a global food crisis.
The US has diverted one-third of its maize production for making ethanol to meet its domestic fuel demand and has been giving huge subsidies for agro-fuels. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in Geneva recently that the trend of “development emergency” should be checked and the policies pursued by the West reviewed.
India has taken into account the impact of biofuel production on food security in its Action Plan on Climate Change.
The Action Plan will make it clear that agricultural land or foodgrains for human consumption will not be used to sustain biofuel production, thereby preventing any threat to the country’s food security, government sources told HT on Saturday. .... .... /snip
Ping.
> On the day that US President George Bush accused India’s growing prosperity of causing the global food crisis...
I had such high hopes for President Bush...
Why not put the blame for high food prices where it belongs - ethanol?
Why not put the blame for high oil and gas prices where it belongs - lack of refineries and no domestic exploration?
Why not put the blame for terror where it belongs ...
I guess we should not be surprised by low approval numbers.
the bush haters again prove their ignorance.
He is correct. It is one of the contributing factors.
Repeat this slowly to Bush. Ethanol is more of the same from the dimwits on both sides.
Agree with your assessment of Bush. A complete failure on virtually every issue of importance to Conservatives with the exception of USSC picks.
Let’s not forget he wanted to screw up the USSC picks. It was with great reluctance and much insistence that he finally did it right.
?
You are right. even in this ‘Success’ he managed to bungle it. In many ways I cannot wait for him to be gone in January - I’m just afraid of what his and the Rep Congress have allowed to come forth. Just like his Father’s incompetence gave us Bill, I think this dolt’s actions may just give us Hill.
why are Indians so damn sensitive?
Is it because Indian men have the smallest penises in the world?
Parliamentary democracy. It comes with that. Follow who is throwing statements at whom, throughout the whole article: Politicians at each other.
Is it because Indian men have the smallest penises in the world?
I'd be surprised if the "survey" included more than a dozen brazen Indian homosexuals as the entire sample size. Indians are not so famous for discussing penis sizes in public, if you know what I mean.
LOL! Bush has become the world’s pinata.
On a more discerning, nuanced tone, to some pol in India, the difference between the enviro fueled ethanol craze and the USG is barely discernible.
So, they bash him a little, helps win votes, y’know, and is fairly mild compared to the what you hear domestically in the US.
Pols are pols; and in the meantime, longterm strategic and security interests are being hammered out and even tested in joint exercises between the two countries, and that’s not even mentioning the huge increases in commercial activity.
LOL! Well, that’s a matter of perspective considering that though Americans are considered the BIGGEST Dicks in the world, many wouldn’t consider that a compliment, freeper Ron Jeremy nothwithstanding.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.