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Futures trading ‘Global prices, states behind price rise’ Ajay Banerjee Tribune News Service New Delhi, April 17 Pawar, while replying to a short discussion on the issue of price hike in the Rajya Sabha, said, “the states were slow on cracking down on the hoarders and some of the states have not even considered to act”. Five states have said they would not even use the enabling clause as empowered in the open market scenario to act against hoarders and profiteers. Another 15 states said they were still thinking and the Prime Minister had been asked to convene a meeting of all Chief Ministers. He went on to thank Punjab and Haryana for keeping the wheat procurement on course. About 89 per cent of all wheat arrivals in the mandis of these two states have been procured by the government agencies, claimed Pawar. He informed the House that the Avijit Sen committee, which was to suggest the items that could be possibly banned from “futures trading”, had been asked to give its report within 10 days. The Left parties and the BJP sought an immediate ban on 25 items that have been suggested by the Standing Committee of Parliament. He defended the opening up of the market to allow farmers to sell their produce anywhere. Pawar went on to name states like Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Gujarat, from where the procurement of wheat was poor, saying: “ The production is adequate, I do not know where the wheat is going”. Notably, all the above states are either ruled by the BJP or the BSP. On the depleting foodgrain stock, he blamed the previous BJP-led NDA regime at the Centre, saying it was in 2003 that we exported wheat and that, too, by paying a whopping Rs 16,000-crore subsidy for the same. Now, in the past six months, the price of wheat has seen the biggest jump in 28 years. In one year, there has been more than 100 per cent increase in international prices of wheat and rice. Pawar said, he saw no reason as to why farmers should not be allowed to sell their produce without restriction to anybody. Earlier, leader of the opposition in the Rajya Sabha, Jaswant Singh made a jibe at finance minister P Chidambaram, saying ''he is not an economist but only an able taxation lawyer.'' Singh said, Chidambaram ''is only nurturing illusions of being an economist, but the fact is that he is only an able taxation lawyer.''
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