The much-awaited Abhijit Sen Committee report on the impact of futures trading on agricultural products has left the Left ??disappointed??. Charging that the panel was ??biased?? and the report was ??out of touch?? with the ??reality,?? the Left brigade is now preparing to step up its demand to put an end to future trading of 25 essential commodities.
??We have demanded the Centre to ban the future trading of 25 essential commodities. A parliamentary committee had also suggested that. The ban will help curbing the price rise,?? CPI(M) general secretary Prakash Karat told FE. His CPI counterpart AB Bardhan had also warned the government of ??serious actions?? if did not take care of the Left’s suggestions to control inflation. The parties had, however, welcomed the government?s recent banning of four more items for future trading, taking the number to eight. The CPI(M) has called for a countrywide road blockade against the price rise on May 15.
However, the parties are yet to come with a comment on the Sen report. Talking to FE, convenor of the CPI(M)?s research unit Prasenjit Bose said that the government should consider the case for suspending futures trading in edible oils and sugar. He also said that Sen had drawn ??some important?? conclusions in his supplementary note.
??Sen concluded his note by saying that the ?best course of action would be to identify those commodities where there is possibility of futures trading affecting expectations that may influence inflation in essential commodities and insulate these from futures.? He had specifically recommended that the suspension of futures trading in the four sensitive commodities (wheat, rice, arhar and tur) should continue and, the case for suspending trade in sugar and edible oils be also considered,?? Bose told FE.
Claiming that the composition of the expert committee was ??heavily biased,?? he said it was packed with ??strident advocates of futures trading,?? who are ??opposed to public procurement and distribution and repose blind ideological faith in the market.?? ??They have refused to go by the evidence collated by their own committee as well as the ground realities,?? Bose added.