Following strong protests from the farmer groups and prominent citizens over PepsiCo India Holdings Pvt Ltd's lawsuits against Gujarat potato growers, the Gujarat government has shown its intent to fight the multinational by becoming a party in the case in solidarity with the farmers.
The Deputy Chief Minister Nitin Patel on Saturday hinted to make State government a party in the case, wherein PepsiCo has slapped a ₹1-crore lawsuit each against four farmers from Sabarkantha district in North Gujarat. A formal announcement on the same is likely by Monday.
The Indian arm of multinational food giant has alleged infringement of its Intellectual Property Right (IPR) of a potato variety named FL 2027 also called FC5, which the farmers produced allegedly without company's approval. PepsiCo claims its exclusive rights on the variety by virtue of a Plant Variety Certificate (PVC) under the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers’ Rights (PPV&FR) Act, 2001. The variety is used for company's popular Lay's chips.
Patel stated that the farmers groups had sought State governments intervention in the case to protect farmers' rights. The government, according to him, will seek court's permission to become a party in the case, while it will also explore options to mediate to resolve the issue between PepsiCo and farmers.
On Friday, the food major's Indian arm had offered for an out-of-court settlement with conditions. The farmers will take a call on the settlement after due consultations. The Commercial Court at Ahmedabad City Civil Court will hear the case next on June 12.
The multinational also came under fire from political quarters with Congress leader Ahmed Patel issuing a statement saying, "Pepsi’s decision to take Gujarat’s potato farmers to court is ill-advised and brazenly wrong. It is in violation of the farmers right under PPVFR Act. The state government shouldn’t keep its eyes shut. Corporate interest cannot dictate what our farmers must or mustn’t cultivate (sic)."