New Delhi: Strongly protesting the decision to open up the retail sector to FDI, Left parties on Friday termed the move as "unprecedented" and said the government should have discussed it first in Parliament before taking the decision.
"It is unprecedented. When Parliament is in session, a major decision was taken outside Parliament. It has never happened," CPI(M) leader Sitaram Yechury told reporters outside Parliament House.
"We will not discuss the FDI issue in Parliament unless government revokes the decision. We will oppose it in the House and outside also," he said.
Attacking Mamata Banerjee-led Trinamool Congress' "contradictory" stand, Yechury said, "On one hand, they are allowing the Cabinet to clear the FDI proposal, on the other they are protesting the decision in the House."
Dubbing the decision as "anti-people", he said it would render many people jobless and increase unemployment.
CPI national secretary D Raja termed the move as "most unwise" particularly when Parliament was in session and said it would lead to the displacement of millions of people from jobs, adversely affect the service sector and seriously harm the small and marginal farmers.
Maintaining that the livelihood of 50 crore people were dependent on the retail sector, he said it was "really an anti-people decision which has been taken as the government is toeing the line given by the multinational corporations".
PTI
First Published: Friday, November 25, 2011, 14:27