The Communist Party of India-Marxist has questioned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's recent statement that the Doha World Trade Organisation parleys on agriculture should proceed with removal of trade barriers, saying any compromise or "about turn" on the issue of concessions by the developed world would be disastrous for millions of Indian farmers.

Referring to an external affairs ministry statement in Abuja on talks between Dr Singh and US President George Bush, the Left party said Dr Singh had been quoted as saying "It was our duty to the global community to ensure that the Doha round too takes us forward on the path of removing barriers to trade." "It is indeed strange" that this came on the eve of the second IBSA Summit when all the three countries -- India, Brazil and South Africa -- were members of the NAMA-II (Non-Agricultural Market Access) group that had "rejected" the Doha text, CPI-M politburo member Sitaram Yechury said in an editorial in the party organ People's Democracy.

He said India was also critical of the Agriculture text "as it does not concretise the specific measures it needs to protect its agriculture and leaves open the degree of market access the developed countries will offer. "It is difficult to understand this sudden about turn of India's stand on the NAMA and the Agriculture text as there has been no corresponding change in either the texts or the position of the developed countries," Yechury said.

The developing world including India had opposed the Doha Agriculture text as the developed countries had not matched the major concessions announced by the developing nations in the earlier rounds of WTO negotiations. In the Doha round, it was accepted that developed nations would need to make some contribution by reducing agricultural subsidies and providing greater market access.

Instead, the CPI-M leader said, the prime minister's recent statement "puts the onus of further reduction of tariffs back on the developing countries." He said the "key reason" for the Doha round not progressing was "the attitude of developed countries, particularly the US, which seek further concessions of developing countries without committing anything in return."

This position, Yechury said, had been opposed by all developing countries, including the Group of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, the African Group countries and other countries with small and vulnerable economies.

"Given the unprecedented levels of agrarian distress in India, any compromises or concessions on this round concerning agriculture would be disastrous for millions in India," he said. It was therefore imperative that the broad consensus among developing nations reflected by the stand taken by the NAMA-II group "must be strictly adhered to as the only basis for further negotiations in the Doha round." Yechury said India cannot only be prepared to giving its share without its concerns being properly and adequately addressed.