Chennai: The Minister of State in Prime Minister's office, V Narayanasamy,on Saturday alleged that India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) supported money lenders, commission agents and failed to pay heed to the plight of the farmers, while it opposed retail reform in the parliament.
The government won the vote in upper house on allowing foreign supermarkets into the country, paving the way for Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to press ahead with more reforms, including freeing up a cash-strapped insurance sector.
Narayanasamy said the BJP ignored the interests of the farmers.
"The BJP while submitting their point of view in parliament, they were supporting the money lenders, they were supporting the commission agents, ignoring the claims of the farmers, ignoring the employment generation and also the consumers protection," the minister told reporters in southern Chennai city on Saturday (December 08).
The policy will allow global retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores to set up shop in the country's $450 billion retail sector, and is aimed at drawing more overseas investment and taming inflation.
Once again, Singh's fragile coalition government relied on the outside support of the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party (SP), underscoring the extent to which it is at the mercy of powerful regional groups to push through legislation.
ANI
First Published: Saturday, December 08, 2012, 15:42