BJP to block retail FDI move: Venkaiah Naidu

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) will block any government’s move – either in Parliament or in any other ways – aimed at facilitating foreign direct investment (FDI) into the country’s retail sector, said senior party leader M Venkaiah Naidu.

He said the party would oppose the government’s action by joining hands with other opposition parties, which has taken a similar stand over the issue.

“The entry of FDI into the retail sector will not only ruin millions of smaller kirana shops in the country but will also ruin the lives of millions of small and marginal farmers,” Naidu said while terming the Union Cabinet’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI into multi-brand retail as ‘suicidal’ for the nation at large.

Over 60 per cent of land holdings in the country is in the size of of 2.5 acre to 5 acre, which, according to him, highlights the fact that most of these land holders are dependent on subsistence farming.

“Vegetables, pulses and other food items produced by these farmers are consumed by themselves and fellow rural folk within villages. If MNCs enter the retail business, village people also would be subjected to buy these items at a price that urban consumers pay for these agriculture items,” he said.

Therefore, a solution that may be suited to the US or Australia cannot be ideal to the conditions of India, Naidu argued.

He also claimed that it was the confrontationist attitude of the UPA government that is responsible for the ongoing stalemate in Parliament.

“We are asking the government to take up issues for discussion such as that of black money and inflation only according to the rules and procedures in vogue. What holds the government back from disclosing the details of 700 overseas accounts that it received?” Naidu questioned.

Responding to a question on the debate on new states versus the demand for separate Telangana state, Naidu said there is not comparison between the proposal to create new state in Uttar Pradesh and Telangana.