People's Democracy

AIKS To Oppose Patent Ordinance

THE All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS) has strongly condemned the promulgation of an ordinance by the UPA government to amend the Patents Act. The AIKS said the government’s claim that this extraordinary step was taken in order to honour the commitments given as per the TRIPS agreement has no substance. 

The AIKS statement condemning the government’s move was issued on January 13, after a meeting of the organisation’s national level office bearers.

The statement said the government has taken this decision to please the imperialist countries and their multinational companies, and under their pressure. It said the latest ordinance would do great damage to agriculture, to industry, particularly pharmaceutical industry, and to the life of the common people. The prices of medicines, pesticides, bio-technical products, seeds etc will go up, thus adversely affecting science and technological developments. 

According to the AIKS, the government should have brought a bill in the parliament and organised wide consultations on this important subject. It said the UPA government did not use even the freedoms and flexibilities available under the TRIPS agreement, so as to protect our agriculture, our industries and the life of our common people. 

The AIKS termed the UPA government’s action to effect this amendment through ordinance route, thus avoiding a discussion in parliament, as undemocratic. The organisation has asked all its units to launch powerful movements against the ordinance --- independently as well as unitedly with other mass organisations who are opposed to the recent patent amendment ordinance.