Monsanto officials were on snoop list as Maharashtra set up probe for Bt cotton

In 2018 as probes continued the phone numbers of six senior officials from Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India Pvt Ltd and Monsanto India were selected as possible candidates for surveillance investigations under the Pegasus Project have revealed The Wire reportedA senior government official and scientist at the Department of Biotechnology who was involved with the Field Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee FISEC was also of interest to an unidentified Indian client of the NSO group The Wire saidIn February 2018 the then Bharatiya Janata Party BJP government in Maharashtra set up a special investigation team SIT to probe companies that were allegedly selling or releasing unapproved herbicidetolerant HT transgenic cotton or Bt cotton seeds in the stateIn particular the state had accused several seed companies of surreptitiously releasing the seeds in several cottongrowing districts of Maharashtra and parts of Gujarat Telangana and KarnatakaThe resolution forming the SIT specifically mentioned seed giants like Mahyco Monsanto Biotech India Pvt Ltd Monsanto Holdings Pvt Ltd and Monsanto India Ltd and the terms involved inquiry of the roles of these companies in the unauthorised production storage and sale of HtBt cotton seeds with HT transgenic geneThe Wire said the employees of Mahyco and Monsanto who were of interest to an Indiafocused client include senior officials researchers and scientists working with the two companiesResearch into genetically modified GM crops happens in a vitiated atmosphere in India Scientific efforts are typically smothered by bureaucratic control while some prominent antiGM activists have been accused of spreading pseudoscienceIn the last six years in particular Maharashtra has seen an exponential rise in the usage of Bt seeds with the HT transgenic gene The seeds although illegal are easily available and accessible to farmersThe BJP government and its ideological mentor RSS have advocated against the use of HTBt cotton seeds The Wire saidA senior Monsanto official who was engaging in talks with the government in 2018 came to be chosen as a potential Pegasus target in mid2018 Speaking on condition of anonymity the official told The Wire that their job was to speak to different stakeholders explaining the companys workA few months prior to the formation of the SIT in October 2017 the Prime Ministers Office PMO had also set up the Field Inspection and Scientific Evaluation Committee FISEC under the Department of Biotechnology to probe the proliferation of unlawful seedsThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever