Actor-turned-politician Ramya chose the last day of the 15th Lok Sabha to make her maiden speech in Parliament. And she did it well by raising the issue of sugarcane farmers and the need to blend ethanol in petrol to cut down the import bill.
During Zero Hour, Ramya appeared a bit nervous as Deputy Speaker Kariya Munda called her name to speak on the issue flagged by her.
Ramya was elected to the Lok Sabha in a bye-election held in August last year.
The member from Mandya overcame her initial inhibitions and stressed on the need to increase the percentage of ethanol being blended with petrol. “Forty four per cent of Brazil’s public transport runs on ethanol,” she said adding that the government can bring down import bill “if we produce ethanol ourselves and use it.”
She also voiced concern over the delay in fixing the minimum support price for sugarcane and the need to insulate farmers.
Published 21 February 2014, 09:35 IST