New Delhi, Sep 29 (ANI): The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday took a jibe at Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh over his remark that the decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail has nothing to do with the U.S.
Senior BJP leader Balbir Punj said that the people of the country have it in the back of their minds that the Prime Minister takes a decision only when there is pressure from America.
"Whoever has seen the tenure of Manmohan Singh in UPA-I and UPA-II properly, they know it very clearly that the Prime Minister takes a stand only when there is pressure from America. During UPA-I when the nuclear deal took place, he put his prestige and his government's existence at stake. Even now in the last three years, nobody has seen him talking," said Punj.
"And all of a sudden the decision to allow FDI in retail was taken and it was notified, whereas the government had in November 2011 through the then Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, who is now the President of India, assured that all stakeholders will be consulted before a final decision is taken," he added.
Punj further said the Prime Minister did not think of the assurance made to the Parliament and withdrew from the promises made.
"Under whose pressure did he take this decision? Everybody knows that the decision was taken under American pressure," he added.
The Prime Minister, who was talking to reporters on the sidelines of the swearing-in ceremony of new Chief Justice of India Altamas Kabir at the Rashtrapati Bhavan here, rubbished reports that the decision to allow FDI was aimed at pleasing the U.S.
"What has the US got to do with this? We are not a country to be dictated by others," said Dr. Singh.
Dr. Singh further indicated that the UPA Government may continue with the reforms process and expressed willingness to discuss issues with allies.
"We will do what is good for the country...reforms are not a one-off process," he said, while responding to questions on demands for rollback of decisions on FDI in multi-brand retail, diesel price hike and cap on subsidised LPG cylinders by the opposition.
Manmohan Singh-led UPA Government is facing intense pressure from the opposition parties over the slew of reforms announced earlier this month.
UPA Government has also lost the support of the Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress (TMC), which has withdrawn its support over the move to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, a cap on the number of LPG gas and diesel price hike. (ANI)
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