FDI in India retail: BJP insists on rollback

NEW DELHI: BJP today remained adamant on its demand for rollback of FDI in retail sector and it leaders held a series of meetings to chalk out further strategy on the issue.

L K Advani and other BJP leaders met before the start of Parliament and decided that the government should either rollback the FDI decision or else it will move an adjournment motion on the issue.

It was also decided at the meeting that party leader Murli Manohar Joshi would move the adjournment motion in Lok Sabha, as there was no sign of the government withdrawing the FDI move.

Advani and Sushma Swaraj, Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, said that the government has not reached out to them on the issue of running Parliament smoothly. "We have not heard from anyone. We have no information," the two leaders said.

Besides Advani and Swaraj, others who attended the meeting were Arun Jaitley, Leader of the Opposition in Rajya Sabha, the party's deputy leaders in the two Houses, Gopinath Munde and S S Ahluwalia, former presidents Rajnath Singh and Joshi and its chief whip in Lok Sabha Ramesh Bais.

BJP leaders later again met alongwith ally and JD(U) leader Sharad Yadav, after both the Houses adjourned for the day to chalk out NDA's further strategy over the logjam.

BJP spokeperson Shahnawaz Hussain said outside Parliament, "The BJP is seeking a rollback on the FDI decision and a discussion on price rise issue. But, the government has no interest in running Parliament...."

He said, "The government, which is the custodian of Parliament, is not interested in running it, then how will it run smoothly. The ruling party seems disinterested."

Hussain said that the BJP wants the Parliament to run smoothly and is, therefore, seeking a withdrawal of the FDI decision and holding of a discussion on price rise.