New Delhi:
Stepping up its opposition to the government's decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail and the recent hike in diesel prices, the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) on Saturday decided to hold a countrywide protest on September 20.
The decision was announced by senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader LK Advani.
The Left has called for a 12-hour bandh in West Bengal, and the Samajwadi Party has also announced an agitation on the same day.
Mr Advani said it would be wise for the government to not wait till 2014 for the people to give their verdict on its functioning. "Let them call for an early election. Let the people make a decision," he said.
He said political parties and the chief ministers were not consulted by the government before making policy announcements.
"This is something which the country is not going to take lying down...It is betrayal of Parliament, people and thousands of traders in the country," Mr Advani said.
The BJP had earlier said on Saturday that all its state governments were opposed to FDI in multi-brand retail, and would oppose the decision.
It also asked Samajwadi Party and Trinamool Congress to withdraw support to the government if they were opposed to the decisions on the diesel price hike and FDI in multi-brand retail.
Small traders, who are likely to be affected if multinational stores come to India as a result of new government norms, are a strong support base of the BJP.
The BJP has also alleged that the decision on FDI in multi-brand retail was a ploy by the government to deflect attention from failures to tackle price rise and corruption.