NCP leader Praful Patel speaks to NDTV's Nidhi Razdan
Facing criticism for his own conflict of interest as part of a Group of Ministers (GoM) on tobacco under the UPA government in 2010, former Union Minister and NCP leader Praful Patel has told NDTV that he did attend a meeting of the Group but then dissociated himself from it, because of his family's beedi business.
Mr Patel is often described as the 'beedi king' of Maharashtra. When asked whether he attended the GoM's meeting in November 2010 where it was decided to postpone new pictorial warnings, Mr Patel admitted he did attend but insisted he was not part of any decision. "When I realised the scope of GoM I was not part of it when final decision was taken, when issue of tobacco was discussed I did not give any opinion", he said.
"The most repulsive warning came under the same GoM", he said, and added that smoking in public places was also banned under the UPA.
Speaking on the current row over the Parliamentary panel, Mr Patel said no one with a conflict of interest should be on the panel.
"I personally believe smoking is injurious to health", he said, but also spoke out for beedi workers and their livelihoods saying "there are people earning livelihood by making beedis, there are farmers who grow tobacco".
He questioned whether a larger picture warning would really help. "Have you seen a tobacco pack with a warning? It's quite big, if you want to make (warning) 100 per cent so be it. Health warnings, education are the most important thing. If 40 per cent is not good enough then not sure about 80 per cent, the ban on smoking in public areas is prevalent. 25 years ago, I gave up smoking. It's a choice I exercised".
Mr Patel also insisted the role of the tobacco lobby was being blown out of proportion, saying, "I also will tell you that no such lobby exists as such perception is being built".
Last year, the Health Minister had said starting April 1, 85 percent of packaging would carry a depiction of the damage done by smoking.
That move was delayed last week after the parliamentary committee said there are no credible Indian studies to correlate smoking and cancer; some members said India must not succumb to "foreign pressure."