Brinda demands probe into Dursban sale
Communist Party of India-Marxist CPI(M) leader Brinda Karat on Sunday demanded a CBI probe into the alleged corrupt practices indulged in by Dow Chemical to bribe Indian officials for selling in India a pesticide, Dursban, which is produced by them.
In a letter written to the union agriculture minister Sharad Pawar, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Ms Karat reminded him of his promise made in the Rajya Sabha regarding a CBI inquiry into the alleged corrupt practices of Dow Chemicals in India.
“This is to draw your attention to an assurance made by you in the Rajya Sabha regarding a CBI inquiry into the corrupt practices indulged in by Dow Chemical to bribe Indian officials to sell a pesticide, namely Dursban produced by them in India,” said Ms Karat. “In this connection, I had made a special mention on April 27, 2007, on the revelations made in the US security exchange where Dow Chemical had to pay a fine, according to the US law for bribery to Indian officials and demanded criminal action against those involved and of blacklisting the company,” she added.
Ms Karat further said, “Subsequently, in answer to Parliamentary questions on May 4 2007, you had agreed to institute a CBI inquiry. A year later on April 25, 2008, again the issue was raised and you had replied that you have not received the CBI report. It is now three years since then. Has the CBI report been received? It is strange indeed that although Dow has had to pay a fine in the United States for corrupt practices indulged in within India, the government of India has still not taken any action either against the Indian officials or more importantly the company itself.” The matter is all the more important because it concerns the sale of a banned insecticide.
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