In what can be called as a shoddy hitjob on Modi government and Union Minister Piyush Goyal, Congress mouthpiece National Herald has claimed that Amul has warned Modi government over the impact of Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) on dairy sector.
In a story titled ‘RCEP: Amul warns Modi govt, letter to Piyush Goyal likely to fall on deaf ears’, published on 2 November, the Congress mouthpiece claimed that “Ignoring the interests of the largest dairy cooperative of Gujarat, Amul… India will sign the agreement without much deliberation.”
The article also mentioned about a letter by Amul’s managing director RS Sodhi to the Commerce and Industry Minister about the ‘adverse impact of RCEP on domestic dairy sector’. “Opposing RCEP, Amul’s managing director RS Sodhi wrote a letter to Piyush Goyal in July and warned him about its adverse impact on the domestic dairy sector,” highlighted the article by National Herald.
However, RS Sodhi already had a discussion with Goyal on RCEP on Wednesday (October, 30) and told PTI that the government will protect the interest of dairy sector under RCEP. “Goyal has assured that no decision will be taken by the Centre that will adversely affect the milk-producers in the country. The decision was conveyed to hundreds of milk producers who assembled in Anand on Thursday to mark the 74th Foundation Day (October,31) of Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited (better known as AMUL),” Sodhi told PTI.
It is very clear that Amul’s managing director stands with government on RCEP deal. He also made a statement about the Goyal’s assurance to protect the interest of the dairy sector in RCEP on October, 30. The message about the government’s assurance was also conveyed to milk producers on October, 31.
But, the Congress mouthpiece deliberately tried to mislead people and for this, the newspaper used a letter written by Sodhi 3 months ago (dated July 22, 2019). The article did not mention the latest statement by RS Sodhi because it did not want the readers to be informed about his current opinion on RCEP. The newspaper wanted to inform that Amul’s Managing Director stands with government on RCEP.
The article is aimed to malign the image of Modi government and Piysuh Goyal. In the very last paragraph, the article notes that, “Although it is not known whether the government has put dairy products under the FTA or not, it has been claimed by a section of media that Goyal has assured Amul that the Centre will not take any decision under RCEP which would adversely affect milk-producers.”
The National Herald is only serving its political masters, and aims to create a controversy around RCEP deal. The newspaper is not even aware of whether dairy sector is included in RCEP, but, they published a story titled ‘Amul warns Modi govt, letter to Piyush Goyal likely to fall on deaf ears’.
This also shows the inability of Congress leaders to comprehend complex issues like Free Trade deals. The ASEAN-India FTA, signed in 2009 by the UPA government gave disproportionate concession to the countries like Vietnam and Indonesia. India agreed to eliminate 74 per cent of tariff lines while Indonesia and Vietnam eliminated only 50 and 70 per cent tariff lines respectively.
The then CM of Kerala, V. S. Achuthanandan, led a delegation to PM Manmohan Singh to protest against a free trade deal with ASEAN. Kerala, a major exporter of plantation products, experienced setback due to the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA), signed in 2006 by the UPA government. The cheap coconut imports from Sri Lanka hurt the state’s coconut cultivation industry.
They signed two poorly negotiated trade deals with South Asian and Southeast ASEAN countries, have no moral authority to raise concerns over RCEP, which is being negotiated to correct the biases of India-ASEAN FTA. The poorly negotiated trade deals with South Asian and ASEAN countries, hurt the interest of Indian farmers while for Modi government, the national interest is paramount.