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Congress gives BJP anxious moments over Patents bill

The Congress has given tense moments to the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government in the Lok Sabha when its member Prithvi Raj Chauvan picked up holes in the Patents (Amendment) bill, 1998 by accusing the government of 'prostrating when asked to bend' while the Left parties voiced total opposition to the bill in its present form.

The Congress leader said yesterday that several provisions of the bill need to be dropped to protect the Indian interest.

Asserting that a number of ministries are involved in the bill, Chauvan wanted the industries minister to take the leaders of the Opposition and other ministries into confidence before finalising the bill by the mandatory date of April 19 this year.

Hailing the World Trade Organisation as the 'most democratic' institution of the world, he said the country could fight for its rights while remaining within this world body. ''We have to abide by the April 19, 1999 deadline relating to the Trade Related Intellectual Property Rights agreement. Therefore the Congress is supporting the bill,'' he explained.

Chauvan also suggested that without wasting time, the government should come forward with the second comprehensive amendment to the bill to meet the January 1, 2000 deadline for the second phase of WTO so that the House would have enough time to discuss the provisions.

The TRIPS provisions will affect health, food, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, drugs, defence etc, he said and suggested that India should go for full product Exclusive Marketing Rights from next year without waiting for the WTO phase III, which will come into force from the year 2005.

The bill in its present form, he felt, will not protect the interests of the people and pharmaceutical industry of India.

Initiating the debate, P V Raghavan (the Communist Party of India-Marxist) alleged that the government has 'insulted' the House by not taking it into confidence before according Exclusive Marketing Rights to foreign companies.

Wondering why the ordinance was promulgated when the bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha, he said it was done under 'pressure from the USA'.

''Only Pakistan and two 'minor' countries have succumbed to the US pressure. When none of our other neighbours have done this, why should India succumb to such pressure?'' he added.

Alleging that the US was out to capture the Indian market at any cost, Raghavan wondered how a sovereign country could allow TRIPS without restrictions?

UNI

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