asking for the source of finance
and intentions of financiers,
naming BNP Paribas Bank and
Milinda and Bill Gates Foundation
(MBGF), the Deputy chairman of
RySS denied any relation with them
as on the date. Moreover, he
asserted that RySS is ready to
collaborate with anyone who
agrees to its core principles and in
the same breath he said that RySS
is in the process of engaging BNP
Paribas Bank as its financial
advisor.
Out of the six collaborations RySS
had, one with SIFF is crucial. It is
established with the aim of
coordinating public and private
investment to develop climate
resilience. It is funded by UNEP,
ICRAF, CIRAD and BNP Paribas
Bank and had its branch office at
Amaravati, capital of AP. The last two organizations belongs to
France, financed by French
government
and
private
foundations.
In this context, RySS brushed
aside the concerns expressed by
eminent environmentalists, hiding
the facts of its collaboration with
global finance. Here many
apprehensions arise – is the global
forces designing the ZBNF to suit
their interests? Is government-
sponsored ZBNF seen by
international finance as a tool to
prepare ground for contract
farming by agri-MNCs?
The alternative agricultural
methods should be promoted only
after applicability was established
on scientific basis. Instead, the
central government chose to
promote one of the methods being
practiced without any scientifically
contd from page 18 during the recent Lok Sabha
elections, dissented with the three
member commission six times in
which he felt that grandees of the
central government were violating
the model code conduct. He was
particularly critical of the speech by
the Prime Minister at a rally in
Gujarat on April 21, in which the PM
claimed that he kept Pakistan on
its toes to ensure safe return IAF
pilot Abhnandan. While the full
commission found no violation. Mr.
Lavasa dissented. Now the rulers
with their vindictive attitude chose
to harass Lavasa and used IT
Department. With extraordinary
zeal the IT department has given
notices to Naveen Singhal Lavasa,
the wife of Ashok Lavasa,
questioning on her IT returns for
the past five years. She was a class
one officer of SBI for 28 years and
she has regularly paid her income
tax. This method of intimidation is
employed only to warn the future
commissioners not to interfere in
the way the elections are being
conducted by those in power.
a video report, was charged by UP
police with criminal conspiracy,
cheating and providing false
evidence to defame the UP
government. But the localpeople
stood in support of Pawan Jaiswal
claiming that he was implicated in
false charges. Even the village
pradhan Rajkumar Pal who is
supporting Jaiswal too is implicated
in to false police cases. Another
journalist Santosh Jaiswal who took
the photograph of some children
mopping the floor is also implicated
in a false case and arrested for
obstructing public servants from
discharging their duty and
extortion. On September 7, UP
police have booked five journalists
in Bijnor after they reported that a
dalit family was prevented from
drawing water from a hand pump.
It is not only academicians and
journalists that are faced with the
wrath of the intolerant rulers, but
also some administrators are being
harassed by them. Ashok Lavasa
is an election Commissioner, who
October - 2019
analysed data – Subhash Palekar’s
ZBNF- as a panacea for all the ills
of agriculture. With huge finances
coming from foreign banks and
institutions, some of it through
climate bonds, the very intention
behind this programme has
became questionable. Precisely
because the core principles of
ZBNF goes against the very
interests of global finance.
Placating ZBNF as a tool to
double the income of farmers is
only meant to assuage the
wounded feelings of rich farmers
by showing them an alternative
farm method to create illusion that
the BJP government is doing
something for them, as well as
diverting the attention of peasants
and people from its failure to
address the crisis in agriculture.
Thus a growing number of
citizens are being hounded by our
right reactionary forces for
criticizing the political leaders or
revealing corruption and other
scandals perpetrated by state
authorities.
This menace of authori-
tarianism has to be resisted, so as
to protect the freedoms and
democratic rights of people.
contd from page 13
agriculture. Empty slogan like
direct cash transfers, Jan dhan
Yojana, make in India bickering,
skill development schemes, debt
reliefs etc. had not moved in this
direction. What is needed is the
energizing the manufacturing
sector and public investment in
agriculture. The BJP government
continued the same policy
implemented by UPA government
that withdrew from investing in
agriculture in theme of attracting
private investment in agriculture
and succumbing the manufacturing
sector to the imperialist sharks.
21