Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh is evasive on Bt Brinjal and has clearly said on Tuesday (February 2) that no decision has been taken on BT Brinjal.
The consultation process is still on and only after the meeting on February 6th in Bangalore he will take a decision and announce it on February 7th.
Earlier, Minister of State for Agriculture K V Thomas has come out in strong favour of BT Brinjal. Thomas on Tuesday (February 2) said that Genetic Engineering is a developing science.
He says, one hould not oppose BT Brinjal only because multi national companies are involved. "The opposition is merely propoganda of Left Parties. The use of BT Brinjal should not be opposed just because it comes from the west," Thomas said.
"These are just propagandas of the Left parties. They opposed even the computers and mobile phones. The world has become a big market, you should never oppose anything just because it is coming from America or Europe, added Thomas."
This is for the people, our country is also developing lot of products based on genetic engineering, what about those products. We are not in a hurry. Lets discuss all sides. Bt Brinjal is good for the country, said K V Thomas.
Meanwhile, with the voices of protest in India against BT Brinjal got louder, what began as a small issue in India has now grown to a global issue with Indians' protest now getting global attention.
The issue is now subject of intense debate, as the country tries to figure out the benefits and harmful effects of its genetically modified (GM) variant. With questions being raised over whether Indian farmers will now be held hostage and become dependent on large U.S companies producing the genetically modified seeds for the genetically modified Brinjal.
Reacting to the debate over the BT Brinjal, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar said that the view of the expert committee should be final. He said, "If after all precautions they have come to the conclusion that this is beneficiary, we should not oppose it."
But even the chairperson of the expert committee Dr Arjula Reddy conceded that more tests could have been done. "If more tests were done and if there was a subtle or harmful effect it would have come out. However, regulatory authorities have not prescribed them for a long time," Reddy said.
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