Bangalore:
Greeted with protests in Bangalore over the Bt Brinjal, Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh lost his cool and called one of the protesters a mental patient asking him to leave.
"I am sorry, I don't want to talk to health patients. Please leave, bye, go to Nimhans," Ramesh said angrily.
"If someone is going to accuse me of being a Monsanto agent, he has no place to stay here. I am not going to conduct the debate this way, if somebody believes that I am a Monsanto agent, I will forcibly evict him from here. I am sorry, there are limits to democracy in this country also. You cannot make wild statements like this," he added.
Hundreds of angry protesters raised slogans and waved placards as Union Environment Minister M Jairam Ramesh commenced a national consultation, the last in the series, on the controversial move to introduce Bt brinjal on Saturday.
"I have been observing over the last month that opponents of Bt brinjal have been behaving in an undemocratic manner", said the Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh.
Farmers, NGO's and members of various organizations condemned the move to introduce Bt brinjal, carrying placards with slogans like "we don't need Bt brinjal."
The consultation witnessed some angry farmers arguing that introduction of Bt brinjal was not safe, as research conducted in the field was still insufficient. Seed owners would not end up being farmers, but multinationals, they said.
A huge posse of police personnel was deployed, even as protesters raised slogans while the debate was on.
Saturday's meeting is the last in a series of nationwide public consultation meetings on Bt brinjal, in which groups, NGOs, technologists and others would air their views.
Ramesh has already stated that a final decision on commercial introduction of Bt brinjal would be taken by February 10. (With PTI inputs)
"I am sorry, I don't want to talk to health patients. Please leave, bye, go to Nimhans," Ramesh said angrily.
"If someone is going to accuse me of being a Monsanto agent, he has no place to stay here. I am not going to conduct the debate this way, if somebody believes that I am a Monsanto agent, I will forcibly evict him from here. I am sorry, there are limits to democracy in this country also. You cannot make wild statements like this," he added.
Hundreds of angry protesters raised slogans and waved placards as Union Environment Minister M Jairam Ramesh commenced a national consultation, the last in the series, on the controversial move to introduce Bt brinjal on Saturday.
"I have been observing over the last month that opponents of Bt brinjal have been behaving in an undemocratic manner", said the Minister of State for Environment and Forests, Jairam Ramesh.
Farmers, NGO's and members of various organizations condemned the move to introduce Bt brinjal, carrying placards with slogans like "we don't need Bt brinjal."
The consultation witnessed some angry farmers arguing that introduction of Bt brinjal was not safe, as research conducted in the field was still insufficient. Seed owners would not end up being farmers, but multinationals, they said.
A huge posse of police personnel was deployed, even as protesters raised slogans while the debate was on.
Saturday's meeting is the last in a series of nationwide public consultation meetings on Bt brinjal, in which groups, NGOs, technologists and others would air their views.
Ramesh has already stated that a final decision on commercial introduction of Bt brinjal would be taken by February 10. (With PTI inputs)
Track Latest News Live on NDTV.com and get news updates from India and around the world
