UPA identifies itself with multinationals: D Raja

The UPA government has created "myths" of foreign investment in multi-brand retail being good for job creation as well as for farmers and consumers in order to push its economic agenda, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said today.

The UPA government has created "myths" of foreign investment in multi-brand retail being good for job creation as well as for farmers and consumers in order to push its economic agenda, Communist Party of India (CPI) leader D Raja said on Friday.

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Speaking in the Rajya Sabha during the debate on allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in retail, Raja said the United Progressive Alliance government "brazenly identifies itself with multinationals and then claims it is with the aam admi".

He said his party is "against the neo-liberal economic policies of the government".

Targeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Raja said: "The prime minister says money does not grow on trees... this has made the government desperate to go for FDI."

The CPI leader said the government had "deliberately created three myths" to push for FDI in retail. "The government created the myths that it will boost employment, be beneficial to farmers and consumers."

He alleged that "Wal-Mart resorts to illegalities and corrupt practices" and employs very few people in comparison to mom and pop shops. He cited studies to say that FDI in retail leads to unemployment, and is harmful for the farming sector.

On consumers, he said: "Many people are earning less than Rs.20 (per day)... What consumers are they talking about?"

"The sense of the house is against FDI," he added.