The Congress on Sunday dubbed Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s remarks on environment at the G20 Summit as “sheer hypocrisy”, accusing the government of completely dismantling India’s environmental protections.
Ramesh, who is also the chairperson of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Science and Technology, Environment and Forests, further claimed that Modi’s “global talk” is completely at odds from the “local walk”.
“The PM’s statements at the G20 and other summits globally are sheer hypocrisy. While destroying protections for India’s forests and biodiversity, and diluting the rights of Adivasis and forest-dwelling communities, he talks of environment, climate action and equity. “The ‘Global Talk’ is completely at odds from the ‘Local Walk’,” Ramesh said in a statement.
Ramesh said, during a chat in Doordarshan with students in 2014, the PM said that the “climate has not changed, we have changed”.
“The self-styled Vishwaguru has come a long way in hypocrisy. The prime minister has used the G20 Summit to make big, empty statements about the importance of the environment,” he alleged.
Ramesh further said that the PM at the G20 Environment and Climate Sustainability Meet said, “We have consistently been at the forefront in taking action on biodiversity conservation, protection, restoration, and enrichment. Protecting and caring for Mother Earth is our fundamental responsibility.”
However, “the truth is the Modi Government is comprehensively dismantling India’s environmental protections and snatching away the rights of the most vulnerable communities dependent on forests,” Ramesh alleged.
He further claimed that in contrast to the PM’s claims of biodiversity conservation, the Biological Diversity (Amendment) Act of 2023 is a “massive dilution” of the original 2002 law.
“The 2023 Act does away with any criminal offence provisions, allowing those who destroy biodiversity and engage in biopiracy to get away scot-free. The National Biodiversity Authority (NBA), formerly an independent body with the powers to act as a check and balance, has been completely put under the control of the Environment Ministry,” the Congress leader said.
Further, he said the claims of emphasising equity are shown to be “completely hollow” by the Forest (Conservation) Amendment Act of 2023.
“This Act will be disastrous for the Adivasi and other forest-dwelling communities in India, as it undermines the Forest Rights Act of 2006. It does away with provisions for the consent of local communities and requirements for forest clearance in vast areas,” Ramesh alleged.