Holding her cards close to her chest, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief Mayawati Monday said her party does not support FDI in multi-brand retail, and would decide how to vote on the "floor of house" Dec 5.
Dec 5 is also when the matter will be put to vote in both houses of parliament.
Emphasising that foreign direct investment in retail would impact small shop owners, farmers and small-scale industries, Mayawati appealed to the central government not to implement the policy in haste.
"Inviting FDI in retail without clauses for the use of local produce would mean an invitation to foreigners to earn maximum profits here. FDI in retail will affect farmers and small traders," she told reporters here.
"We don't support FDI in retail. Without seeing the results, we cannot currently support the policy to introduce FDI in retail. We will decide about voting on the floor of the house as we also don't want to stand by communal parties," she said.
Mayawati said the Congress-led United Progressive Alliance government needs to consider the adverse effects of allowing FDI in retail.
"Investment is important for any developing country. You have to look for FDI if you have exhausted options of loans from foreign countries. But we need to think about the negative impact of FDI as countries like Thailand, Malaysia and Indonesia invited FDI but the results were not very good and their economies suffered," she said.
The BSP chief, however, said the good part of the government's FDI policy was that it won't imposed in non-Congress-ruled states.
She said a good FDI deal should be able to allow value addition to local produce, which could then be sold in local and overseas markets.
Terming as "bogus" the claims of the government that FDI in retail would bring down prices, Mayawati said: "Allowing FDI into India without any condition will not be good for the economy. India needs to first identify the sectors in which FDI should be allowed."