Protest Against BRAI Bill in New Delhi

The Coalition for a GM Free India along with various farmer unions, national political parties and diverse social and environmental movements, including Mazdoor Kisan Shakti Sangathan, Greenpeace-India, India Against Corruption, Bharat Swabhiman Trust, Volunteers for a Better India and others, launched a nation-wide campaign demanding that the Biotechnology Regulatory Authority of India (BRAI) Bill, 2013, be withdrawn immediately. The dharna (fast) held to launch the campaign at Jantar Mantar was attended by hundreds of people from all walks of life. All of them joined hands in solidarity and vowed to fight this invasion of Genetically Modified (GM) crops and its proponents like Monsanto, the American Multinational seed corporation, into India's food and farming. The BRAI Bill was introduced in the last session of Lok Sabha by the Ministry of Science and Technology, despite opposition from within and outside the Parliament. The Bill provides a single window fast track approval mechanism for GM crops, which are a threat to human health, biodiversity and farm livelihoods. It works in the interest of biotech seed companies by avoiding deterrent liability mechanisms or public scrutiny. It has been called India’s Monsanto Protection and Promotion Act.