Madam,
this is a very important question. The price rise in vegetables and fruits has
been very substantial in the recent past which has created tension not
only in the country but also in the House. The basic reason is that
most of them are perishable. I have been raising my voice in the House for
quite a long time. The importance of this is because they are being produced in
the rural areas by the farming community and are being consumed by the lower
middle-class and the poor sections of society. It is because it does not
affect the life of the rich or the upper middle-class where the share of
essential commodities is very meagre. So, here the ban or duty-free import is
not the solution. We have to encourage the production in this country
because farmers are140 very competent to produce the
requirement of the total country. He has given a statement here itself that the
price160
which was Rs.4000 per quintal has come down to Rs.200 per quintal in 40 days.
It means that the pathetic condition of the farmer who is producing by spending
all his life is crippled. So, we have to take care of consumers
as well as farmers who are in large numbers in this country. They are 70 per
cent of the population. So, I wish to know from the hon. Minister
whether he will think in terms of providing a Price Stabilization Fund.
When there is an opportunity to the farmer to sell his produce outside the
country at a very substantial price of Rs.4000, he should not be
disturbed. He can provide a Price Stabilization Fund in this280
regard and also bring in new technology, storage facilities and
encourage people to start storage by giving loans at the rate of interest
of three per cent. He should also give power subsidy. I wish to know from the
hon. Minister whether320 he will think in terms of providing
these facilities and save the farmer as well as the consumer by providing cheap
loan, storage facility and Price Stabilization Fund.
Madam,
today India is becoming an emerging economy. The world predicts that in the
next decade, India will emerge as an economic power. I remember the
days in 1947, probably in the early days of our Independence, when India went
with a begging bowl before the world, for cereals and pulses.
There was an uncertainty; and the whole world could not feed or meet the
demands of India. The successive Prime Ministers, 420 the great men of
vision, have ushered in policies and after the Green Revolution, India today is
a country which is producing the maximum wheat in the world; India is a
country which is producing the maximum rice in the world; India is a country
which is producing the maximum milk in the world. Today, even if the whole
world480
declares moratorium against India, the people of India will not die of hunger.
This guarantee has come to the country through the successive policies
of Governments in the past. Today when we are facing an unprecedented crisis,
we have to see what are the steps taken by the Government in the last year
and in the year to come, to face the problems which this country
is facing. Before I deal with the other major points, I would like to
share560
the sentiments and support the views expressed by the hon. President.
It was not only a demand from the
Opposition but some of the Members of the ruling party also went to the
Prime Minister and told him that a Joint Parliamentary Committee to look into
this whole issue was a legitimate demand. Our Prime Minister assured us that
they were not against any form of inquiry. They have nothing to hide but at
the same time if this640 House cannot discuss an issue which
is before the nation then we will be failing in our duty. They
wanted this House to debate and discuss this issue. Today, the wise counsel is
prevailing on everybody. We all have agreed to have a discussion on this issue.
Whatever be the decision, every Party has a right to take its own decision. 700
But discussion could not take place and the whole Session was aborted. The
people who elected us, who expected that we would be discussing many
vital issues affecting the country, were all disappointed. At least past is
past and today we have decided to have a discussion on this matter. In
the words of the leaders who spoke this morning, I hope this will be a
productive Session making up the loss which we have suffered in the
past. We also had some sad moments. The hon. President has commented on some
such tragedies which had happened, like800 the severe cloud burst which affected
the people of Ladakh. Be it a cloud burst in Ladakh or the natural calamity, it
depends on how the Government of the day is coming up to ameliorate the
sufferings of the people; what steps840 the Government is taking to redress
the grievances of the people. The hon. President has complimented the UPA
Government for the effective steps it has taken when this natural calamity had
overtaken the people of Ladakh. In such situations, it is the
preparedness of the UPA Government, decisive action of the UPA Government to
help the people, which is being complimented by the hon. President.
In
the last Session of Parliament, we met just before the
beginning of the Commonwealth Games. There was a hue and cry by the
Members that there was no sufficient preparedness on the part of the
Organizing Committee and there were a lot of irregularities involved in it.
Nobody in this House was960 happy about the situation prevailing at
that point of time. What has this Government done? This Government has
conducted an inquiry. The980 Chairman of the Organising Committee was
a senior Member of our Party. The charge against the Chairman of the
Organizing Committee was not proved, but our Party Leadership decided that he
should step down from the position he was holding in the Party. Has this
happened anywhere before? Can anybody quote an example like this? A senior
Member of our Party was asked to resign from the post of Secretary of the Congress
Parliamentary Party. An inquiry is going on and nobody is going to be
spared. This Government is meeting this situation with a resolute courage and
that goes to the credit of this Government. There is another positive
aspect. During the Commonwealth Games our sportspersons brought laurels to
the country. I remember many international festivals and Commonwealth Games
held in the past. Our team always came back as tragic1120 heroes. Even small
countries got more medals than India did and we were always a poor
spectator. But unprecedented medal tally in the Commonwealth Games 2010 has
made this country proud. Let us compliment the sportspersons of our country. There
may be some lapses in the organising part of it and that is being inquired
into by the Government. But at the same time, these Commonwealth
Games in Delhi were a success. The people of Delhi have cooperated with the
Games. Our sportspersons have fared well in these Games and they made our
country proud. It is definitely a matter which we can feel proud of.
Madam,
we have passed through a very difficult year in our country. Inflation
had been a problem in the past year. Certain parts of the country have
suffered unacceptably high levels of violence, especially, 1260 the Left Wing
extremism in certain States and also extremist activities in Kashmir Valley.
How the Government faced and1280 is facing these problems is a matter
which is being narrated by the hon. President. I would like to make it very
clear that the five points which were mentioned in the President’s
Address form the cornerstone of this declaration. These five major points
of her speech which the Government is going to implement are also a
report card of the last year and also a plan of action for the next
year. What the Government did on all these five points is the moot point we
have been discussing today. The first and foremost thing was to combat
inflation in particular, to protect the common man from the effects of
rising food prices. In the last Session even though we1400 could not
discuss important matters, the hue and cry in this august House was
about the price of onion. It was hitting the ceiling. It was Rs.80 per kilo.
All pulses, cereals, edible oils and everything was beyond the1440
reach of common man and that was an alarming situation. But what is it
today? The hon. President has said that combating inflation is our first
priority. Have we done justice to this statement? Have we
taken enough steps to implement this programme? The food price inflation
had gone up to a level of 20 per cent which was unprecedented. What steps has
this Government taken? I still remember there was an allegation that the policy
of the Government is failing. Let us see what steps the
Government has taken. The import regime has been liberalized to ease
constraints on critical items. Export of commodities like edible oils and
pulses has been banned. Pulses are being supplied at subsidized rates
through Public Distribution System. Public sector units have been
directed to open more retail outlets for selling vegetables. These are
some of the steps taken by the Government. The food price inflation which was
20 per cent when we were1600 meeting here in the last Session of
Parliament has come down to 8 per cent.
