The Union Minister for Civil Aviation, Mr Ajit Singh, on Sunday said he was in favour of FDI in retail, but cautioned that there had to be regulatory mechanism to protect the interest of the farmers.
“FDI in retail is important, as farmers will get better prices by selling their produce to big stores. But unless there are laws to protect their interest, farmers will be cheated,” he said at a function to mark the release of a Telugu book on farmers authored by Mr Vadde Sobhanadreeswara Rao, former Agriculture Minister.
Displaying his passion for farmers’ interest, the Minister took a dig at political leaders across the political firmament, including those in power today, for ignoring the plights of the farmers. “Farmers’ issue is no more an issue today that is discussed seriously in parliament. Politicians are today not interested in this issue. Very few people who run the government are even aware of the Swaminathan Committee report,” he said.
He said elections are not contested today, but fought. “If you buy votes, you do not have to know about any issue (such as farmers’ issue) or discuss it. Today debates (in Parliament) are more on interest rates, taxes and petrol prices,” Mr Singh said. He hoped that the Election Commission would succeed in eliminating the role of money in elections.
Pointing out that members of farmers’ families were increasingly getting out of farming, he said this was because the younger generation did not wish to stay back in their villages to continue farming due to lack of adequate facilities there. “Farming has prospered in India, but not farmers,” he said.