Indian politicians blast Bush over comments on food prices

A Kashmiri worker carries a sack of rice at a government warehouse in Srinagar, India, Saturday, May 3, 2008. World rice prices have seen a sharp rise amid global food inflation, poor weather in some rice-producing nations and demand that has outstripped supply. Some Asian countries, including India and Vietnam, have curbed rice exports to guarantee their own supplies. (AP Photo/Dar Yasin)

NEW DELHI—Indian politicians have lambasted President Bush for saying the South Asian country's increasing prosperity is partly to blame for the rising price of food around the world.

The defense minister called Bush's comments a "cruel joke" and the Hindu nationalist opposition, the right-wing Bharatiya Janata Party, threatened Monday to force a parliamentary debate on the matter.

Bush, in comments that praised the growing prosperity of countries like India, said Friday that "when you start getting wealth, you start demanding better nutrition and better food.

"And so demand is high, and that causes the price to go up," Bush said.

That Bush was expressing a view held by many economists -- and that he called India's growing prosperity "good" -- wasn't addressed by the South Asian country's indignant politicians.

They instead treated the U.S. president's comments as an insult -- and responded accordingly, underscoring the latent anti-Americanism that still prevails among India's political elite even though Washington and New Delhi are much closer today than when they sat on opposite sides of the Cold War divide.

The uproar over Bush's comments also highlighted how big an issue food prices have become in India, with the opposition demanding Prime Minister Manmohan Singh respond to Bush.

"India will not accept such interference. The government should take serious note of the U.S. president's statement and give a strong reply," BJP vice president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi told reporters Sunday.

Defense Minister A.K. Antony said the same day that "U.S. policies are also responsible for the food grain shortage."

He blamed rising prices on the American government's decision to encourage farmers to grow crops for biofuels instead of food, which economists say is also a major factor in increasing costs.

India's economy has boomed in recent years, spurring demand for more and better food even as growth in the country's agriculture industry has stalled.

That has meant that India has had to import wheat in each of the last two years and ship in more cooking oil to meet the growing demand. The government also recently banned the export of non-basmati rice -- that is, the cheaper varieties -- to make sure there is enough for local markets.