THE ruling UPA and the main opposition party, BJP, will do well to focus on some of the real issues arising out of food shortages being faced globally today. Instead, they are needlessly engaged in a slanging match in Parliament over past reform measures which were aimed at creating a common market for agriculture in India. The UPA is blaming the BJP for amending the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) in 2003 and passing a central order that removed restrictions on inter-state movement of foodgrains, and had also done away with other control measures such as mandatory stock limits on traders. The BJP shot back saying these reforms were carried forward by the UPA, which is as committed to creating a common agriculture market in India with no restrictions imposed by states on movement of grains. This is meant to help farmers get the best price for their produce. The absence of free movement of agri-commodities had tended to create a glut in one part of the country and a deficit in another, thus creating massive price distortions. A common agriculture market was therefore seen as an answer to geographic segmentation. There was nothing wrong with the policy as such. The BJP has quoted agriculture minister Sharad Pawar as saying he was equally committed to a single common market for agriculture. So what are the UPA and BJP fighting about? The blame game has begun only now because of declining food stocks and the looming threat of inflation. The BJP is blaming the UPA for not taking pre-emptive measures to check inflation. This is an extraordinary situation so some of the reform measures taken by the NDA through an amendment to the ECA are being rolled back purely as a short-term strategy. For instance, stock limits are being reimposed on grain traders to prevent hoarding. Similarly, export controls on agriculture and other commodities are measures that cannot be permanent. Once things normalise, the government, whether led by the UPA or the BJP, will certainly do away with these temporary controls. So why this blame game?