MP, Punjab spar over Basmati GI tag; CMs write to PM

Punjab CM letter to PM politically motivated, have also written to PM, says Chouhan

shivraj-amarinder (File) Shivraj Singh Chouhan (left) and Amarinder Singh

Madhya Pradesh has gotten into a face-off with the Punjab government after the latter’s objection to geographical indication (GI) tag to Basmati rice from 13 districts of MP.

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh had on Wednesday written to the prime minister, objecting to the GI tag claims of MP.

He said that Madhya Pradesh has been trying to get GI tag for Basmati rice grown in 13 districts of the state, but in 2017-18, the Registrar of Geographical Indications (RGI) of Government of India, rejected the demand. Later, the Intellectual Property Appellate Board also discarded MP’s claim.

The state also could not get relief in this matter from the Madras High Court and the matter is currently pending in Supreme Court, where the MP government has gone into an appeal.

Meanwhile, Singh had said in his letter that any dilution in the GI registration parameters will give advantage to Pakistan, which also produces Basmati as per GI tagging, in the international market in terms of characteristics and quality parameters.

The Punjab CM also urged the PM to direct that the status quo in the matter was not disturbed, meaning MP should not be given the GI tag, and added that this was essential for safeguarding the interests of farmers and Basmati exporters of India.

The Madhya Pradesh government went all guns blazing on the issue on Thursday, with Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan calling the move of the Congress-ruled Punjab CM politically motivated and condemning his letter to the PM.

“I want to ask Singh what enmity he has with the farmer brothers of Madhya Pradesh. This is not about Madhya Pradesh or Punjab, but an issue of farmers across the country and their livelihood,” Chouhan tweeted.

Citing the history of Basmati production in Madhya Pradesh since 1908, Chouhan mentioned that farmers or Punjab and Haryana purchased Basmati rice from MP for export. The Indian Institute of Rice Research, Hyderabad, has also recorded the production of Basmati in MP since the last 25 years.

He also said that the case of Agricultural and Processed Food Products Export Development Authority (APEDA) with Pakistan has no relation with MP as it is under GI Act of India and not linked to inter-country claims on Basmati rice.

The CM later also tweeted that he has written to the prime minister on the issue, putting up the state’s case. He urged the Government of India to take suitable steps to safeguard the welfare of farmers of Madhya Pradesh and direct authorities to issue the GI tag to Basmati.

Meanwhile, state ministers including Home Minister Narottam Mishra and Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel attacked Congress and ex-CM Kamal Nath over the issue and asked him to clarify his stand on the matter. Mishra said that the Congress has always ditched the farmers of the state.

Responding to the issue, Kamal Nath said that the BJP is expert in spreading lies on all issues. “I and my government were always in support of getting a GI tag for MP Basmati rice. I am still of the view that we should get the tag. I am always with the farmers of the state and will keep fighting for their rights, there is no second thought on that. The APEDA had started the process of GI tagging for MP Basmati in 2008. After that, the BJP had a government in state for 10 years, but failed to fight on the issue effectively and the state’s claims lagged. It was on March 5, 2018, in the tenure of BJP governments in state as well as Centre that Registrar of GI rejected the claims of MP as Basmati producing state,” he said.

Kamal Nath further said that it was ridiculous that the BJP which failed in its task during 10 years of governance was questioning Congress on the matter. “We put up the state’s case effective during hearing in 2019. The CM of Punjab is fighting the case of farmers of his state. I am standing with the farmers of MP and will always fight their case. This is not about Congress-BJP. Going by this (political affiliations), the Centre has BJP government then why is Madhya Pradesh being overlooked?” Nath asked.

The issue of Basmati tagging

Currently, apart from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Western Uttar Pradesh and select districts of Jammu and Kashmir have GI tagging for basmati.

The Punjab chief minister in his letter has said GI tagging of Madhya Pradesh Basmati would negatively impact the state’s agriculture and India’s Basmati exports.

Singh said in his letter that ‘as per the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999, a geographical indication tag can be issued for agricultural goods that are originating in the territory of a country, or a region or locality in that territory, where a given quality, reputation or other characteristics of such goods is essentially attributable to its geographical origin. GI tag for Basmati has been given on the basis of the traditionally grown areas of Basmati due to special aroma, quality and taste of the grain, which is indigenous to the region below the foothills of Himalayas in the Indo-Gangetic Plains and Basmati of this area, has distinct recognition across the world.’

The Punjab CM has said that Madhya Pradesh did not fall under the specialised zone for basmati cultivation. “It was for this reason that the state was not included in the indigenous area of Basmati cultivation in India.” Madhya Pradesh’s move is a direct violation of the GI tagging procedure and laws, he said.

Any attempt to breach the GI tagging areas will not only hit the status of aromatic Basmati cultivation in India’s specialised areas but will also negate the purpose of GI tagging regulation in the Indian context, the Punjab CM said in his letter, elaborating that the MP claims were rejected by authorities during its earlier attempt in 2017-18.