New Delhi:
A party MP has just added to the Congress' worries over opposition to the decision to allow Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in retail.
As the UPA government it leads tries to get allies and opponents alike to understand the benefits of allowing global players in multi-brand retail, Sanjay Singh, a Congress MP from poll-bound UP has said he plans to write to the PM to say that the timing of the FDI decision will hurt the party's electoral prospects in UP.
Mr Singh contends that "multinationals will come with billions and hurt poor unorganised people in backward states like UP...I will write to the PM that the move will be detrimental to the Congress' interest," he said.
"Such investors should be asked to set some money aside for schemes for the poor," suggested Mr Singh.
He pointed out that the Congress had always been seen as being with the poor and weaker sections of the society. This aspect should have been taken into account before announcing the decision, he said.
The UPA government can ill-afford dissension within. On Tuesday again, the work day for parliament ended by noon - both houses have been adjourned till tomorrow. The opposition has made good on its promise not to let parliament function till the government agrees to reverse its decision on FDI in retail.
Two senior Union ministers from the Congress - Vayalar Ravi and TK Thomas, both from Kerala - have acknowledged that they had shared reservations about allowing FDI in the multi-brand sector in the cabinet meeting which eventually cleared the proposal. Key government allies like the Trinamool and DMK have come out strongly against the move.
So far, the winter session of parliament has been a non-starter. A truce was not brokered at this morning's meeting of all parties called by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. Like the Opposition, the government's biggest allies say the government should withdraw last week's approval to allow 51% foreign ownership in the multi-brand retail sector.