Patna: Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar
on Friday vehemently opposed the Centre's decision to allow FDI in
retail saying it would "escalate unemployment" in the country.
"I oppose it, I oppose it tooth and nail... it is not the
right step as it will ruin the retailers and will lead to a
point of unemployment beyond imagination in the country,"
Kumar told reporters after releasing the report card of his
government for the sixth consecutive year.
Recalling that he had earlier opposed creation of
Special Economic Zone (SEZ), he said the result of which was
evident in the country by now.
"The country can't progress on the basis of the model of
others... it will have to have indigenous model," Kumar said.
He said the power, propaganda and capital of the
Multi-National Companies (MNCs) were as a matter of fact known
to the country.
In reply to a question, Kumar said he would see what his
government could do within its jurisdiction to avoid
implementation of FDI policy in Bihar.
"Bihar was the first state which strongly objected to
the proposal of SEZ," he said.
When his attention was drawn to Union Agriculture Minister
Sharad Pawar's statement in a journal that though he praised
Nitish Kumar, no innovative measures were being adopted in
Bihar, Chief Minister said "I have not gone through such
statement."
"But what I want to clarify is that we have made a number
of innovations in the field of agriculture... our seed
replacement policy is well acclaimed," he said.
"If opening of doors for MNCs means innovation in
agriculture... then we are sorry to say that I won't subscribe
to it," he said.
"We have seen successive failure of maize crops the seeds
for which was provided an MNC and the state government has to
pay Rs 61 crore as compensation for the crop loss to the
farmers", he said.
"Be it BT brinjal and BT Maize, we are opposed to it
because of concrete scientific reasons", he said.
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 25, 2011, 15:15