BJP today accused the Congress-ledUPA government of adopting double standards on the issue ofFDI in multi-brand retail.
"(During the NDA regime), the Congress party and itssenior leaders like Priya Ranjan Dasmunshi had opposed the FDIin multi-brand retail. However, the same party and its leadersare now supporting it saying that it would not harm theinterests of farmers," BJP leader M Venkaiah Naidu toldreporters here.
Even the UPA government had told Parliament in 2009 that adecision to permit 51 per cent FDI in retail would besuspended until a consensus was reached among variousstakeholders, including chief ministers, he added.
Seeking Congress' clarification on the issue, Naidu asked,"Is it the policy of the Congress to speak something when outof power and do the opposite when in power? Is it not thebrazen opportunism and double standards of the Congress?"
"Is it not a fact that the Congress has not consulted itsallies on such a major decision? Is it the way to run thegovernment?," the former BJP chief questioned.
"Let the Congress explain its volte-face on the FDI inretail trade and justify its stand," he said.
The character of Indian economy is service-oriented andagriculture as well as retail were the largest job providersin the country, he said.
"The fragmented market was always in consumers' interest,"Naidu said, adding that a consolidated market restrictsconsumers' choice and MNCs eliminate competition and exploitconsumers.
"FDI causes displacement in retail sector and job lossesin the manufacturing sector," he said.