Friend and foe gang up, FDI storm awaits govt in House

The opposition has decided to attack the government in Parliament today on FDI in multi-brand retail business despite its campaign to allay the fear that the neighbourhood mom-and-pop stores would be gobbled up by global retailers. HT reports.Three promises|Small shops gang up| FDI succour for bruised realtors| Not open for biz

The opposition has decided to attack the government in Parliament on Monday on foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail business despite the government’s campaign to allay the fear that the neighbourhood mom-and-pop stores would be gobbled up by global retailers.

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Since the cabinet’s FDI approval is an executive decision, and did not pass through Parliament, political parties across the ideological spectrum — the Left, BJP and the AIADMK in the opposition and UPA supporters and allies BSP, Samajwadi Party and the Trinamool Congress — have made it clear that they would not only oppose it in their respective states, but in Parliament as well.

J Jayalalithaa of Tamil Nadu and Nitish Kumar of Bihar joined the chorus on Sunday against FDI, echoing two other chief ministers, Mayawati of Uttar Pradesh and Mamata Banerjee of West Bengal.

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BJP sources said Murli Manohar Joshi would move the adjournment motion on Monday and the party would press for a debate in the House.
With others joining the bandwagon, the saffron party has decided to give the issue precedence over its other two key issues — price rise and black money.

But he said the government was willing to discuss the issue in Parliament under Rule 193 that did not entail voting.

NDA convenor Sharad Yadav declared his party (JD-U) wouldn't allow Parliament to function at the cost of the people. "This decision of the government will render crores of small business and vendors unemployed and destroy the unique village economy of the country.”

Interestingly, CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta reportedly spoke to TMC parliamentary party leader Sudip Bandopadhyaya, seeking his party’s support to the adjournment motion. Bandopadhyaya refused, but assured Dasgupta that the TMC would also record its protest.