AIKS flays Manmohan Singh's 'anti-farmer' policy

BHUBANESHWAR: All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) General Secretary Atul Kumar Anjan on Saturday accused Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi of pursuing 'anti-farmer and anti-rural' policies to 'push the country to an acute food crisis'.
  
Talking to newsmen here Mr Anjan, also member of the National Commissions for Farmers, said India was passing through a critical age of food crisis following a negative growth of agriculture production compared to population growth.
  
He said while the population growth stood at 2 per cent, agriculture production remained at 1.2 per cent. He alleged that a powerful lobby, comprising some political leaders and bureaucrats, was in the pay roll of the World Bank and IMF pushing the country into a serious food crisis.
  
He predicted that in another three to four years India would become the largest food importer in the world due to the 'faulty' policy pursued by the UPA government.
  
Mr Anjan said the National Commissions for Farmers, headed by noted scientist M S Swaminathan, had already submitted five reports to the government on how to improve food production and food security, but no action had yet been taken on these reports.