Mohinder Gulati, who was formerly working with the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL), has written an open letter to climate activist Greta Thunberg, expressing his ‘disappointment’ at her comments on the farmers’ protests. Gulati, in his letter, says he had previously admired Greta but alleged that she has started using her “well-earned bully pulpit to wade into political issues, such as farmers’ protest in India, which may not be as simple and as straightforward as you may have been led to believe.”
Gulati, who is a former Chief Operating Officer at the United Nations Sustainable Energy for All, says that she should factor in four key issues — emissions from crop residue burning, food wastage, water crisis and corruption-controlled agriculture markets — before forming an opinion on the farmers’ protest.
The letter went on to allege that there are other “strong vested interests” benefitting from the status quo. “Government procures large quantities of wheat and rice for the public distribution system and pays a pre-announced minimum support price (MSP). About 52% of this procurement is made from only three states Punjab, Haryana and Uttar Pradesh — the hub of agitating farmers. More than 90% of the farmers in the rest of India do not benefit from this system.”
Speaking of the alleged role of the brokers in India’s agriculture, Gulati says, “Normally, the market price is lower than the MSP. This is what creates a great opportunity for broker-mafia. Brokers and politicians purchase wheat and rice from farmers in other states at a lower price (about 60% of MSP) and pay them in cash, bring it to government procurement stations in Punjab, Haryana and UP, sell it at a higher price (MSP) and get paid by check. This is counted as their agriculture income, which is tax-exempt. So these brokers, often politicians or campaign financiers, not only earn the huge arbitrage but also convert the cash (generally crime money) to legitimate tax-free income”.
Gulati praises the new farm laws brought in by the Union government and tells Greta, in the open letter, that they are aimed at bringing in transparency, by making it difficult to legitimise crime money. He alleges that the farmers’ protest is well-funded by these proceeds of the same and questions if she would support a system of legitimising crime and corruption money in the hands of corrupt politicians and their cronies.
Gulati hails Greta for doing a great service to the cause of climate change, an existential threat to humanity that needs to be addressed urgently. And by “walking into the thicket of local political issues, often mired in a battle with corrupt and vested political interests” would undermine her ability to keep the moral high ground to exhort world leaders into action for a sustainable future.
Greta had joined singer Rihanna and other international celebrities and leaders in bringing attention to the farmers’ protests in India. After she expressed her support to the cause, she had also tweeted a document (now deleted), which was labelled a ‘toolkit’ on organising online and on-ground protests against the farm laws. It had sparked a row over the alleged ‘foreign conspiracy’ in the protests and the Republic Day tractor rally that ended in violence in Delhi.