An Indian Cabinet Minister admitted in Parliament today that India could not accept an Israeli offer of fertilizers because of “political considerations.”
Food and Agriculture Minister Subramanian made the admission in reply to a question from H.V. Kamath, a deputy, who asked if the Israel Government had offered food grains in response to global appeals by United Nations Secretary General U Thant and of the Food and Agricultural Organization on India’s behalf. The deputy also asked what had prevented India from accepting such an offer if it was made.
The Minister said that Israel did not offer grain but did offer fertilizer. India could not accept the offer for political reasons, he said. The deputy then asked whether people in India should be allowed to starve because of the Government’s politics. The Minister replied that the Israeli offer was a “paltry” one and that “we had to take into account other reactions. In the judgment of the Government, we thought we need not accept it.”
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