Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt Amarinder Singh has warned against spread of Maoism in the country including Punjab, saying it was gradually covering more and more areas. He called for introducing genetic engineering in the agriculture sector to increase the yield which will help in improving the lot of the farm sector.In his presentation at the Chintan Shiver at Jaipur, Capt Amarinder referred to the party document which foresaw Maoism-Naxalism as a major challenge. He said, while earlier only about 150 districts were said to be affected by the ultra-left extremism across the country, now the number of districts had touched about 350.He revealed that in a state like Punjab which was doing relatively better than others, all the 22 districts had reported the activities of Naxal groups. He said, seven years ago when he was the Chief Minister of the state only two districts in Punjab had the Naxal presence.
The former Chief Minister called for innovation in the agriculture saying the farmers needed to be provided adequate minimum support price for their produce proportionate to the input costs. Since the government was finding it difficult, introducing genetic engineering and genetically modified crops was the only option to increase the yield to improve the economy and prevent the ultra-left extremist groups exploiting people’s plight.Capt Amarinder said, some big multinational pesticide companies and other vested interests will definitely oppose it under some disguise as they will find their commercial interests threatened, but the government must not bow to them. “There is no dearth of Kejriwals who get used by these companies, willingly or unwittingly”, he said, while adding, this opposition needs to be overcome as it was the high time for introducing genetic engineering in the agriculture sector in the country.Narrating his own experience, he said, when he was the Chief Minister of Punjab he ensured to introduce BT cotton amidst strong opposition from the vested interests. Not only did the crop need far less pesticide sprays, but the yield also increased and farmers’ income increased manifold. He said, similar measures were needed to be adopted all over India to address the issue of the depleting income of the farmers which will improve the rural and agrarian economy and can prove to be an antidote against the Naxal and Maoist movements in the country.