Trinamool leads protests in Indian parliament
Key UPA partner Trinamool Congress on Friday virtually led the charge in Parliament against the controversial decision to allow FDI in retail, an issue which saw a united Opposition forcing repeated adjournments.
India's government on Thursday announced it was throwing open the nation's huge retail sector to global supermarket chains in a reform that could herald a consumer revolution.
The cabinet approved a plan to allow international firms to hold a 51 percent stake in multi-brand retailers, a government official told AFP, in one of the Indian government's boldest economic reforms.
Members from Mamata Banerjee's party stormed the Well in the Rajya Sabha and were seen protesting from the aisles in the Lok Sabha against the decision of the Union Cabinet to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail and 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail.
Commerce and Industry Minister Anand Sharma, who made identical statements in both the Houses on the issue, faced angry opposition as also Trinamool Congress members who chanted 'Cancel FDI in retail'
BJP and Shiv Sena members in the Lok Sabha carried placards and banners against the decision that was welcomed by the industry -- both in the country and abroad.
Left parties, which have been agitating for long against FDI in retail, were equally forceful in their protests.
With today's adjournment, proceedings in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha in the first week of the Winter session were almost a washout following turmoil over a host of issues including price rise, black money and separate Telangana.
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