BJP slams PM for going ahead with FDI decision

New Delhi: BJP today hit out at Prime Minister Manmohan Singh for going ahead with the decision on FDI in multi-brand retail, alleging that he has acted under foreign pressure and is now making a "pathetic attempt" to deny it.

"It is a pathetic attempt by the Prime Minister to deny something which is so obvious and glaring.... It is a sad day for the country that the Prime Minister of India has to deny that he is not working under foreign pressure and he does not sound convincing," BJP MP Balbir Punj said.

He charged that Singh had staked his prestige and existence of his government during UPA-I on the nuclear issue and has now gone ahead with the FDI in multi-brand retail.

"In the process, he has gone back on the solemn assurance which the UPA-II government had given to the country through a statement in Parliament by the then Finance Minister and now President Pranab Mukherjee that no decision will be taken on FDI in multi-brand retail without taking all stakeholders on board," Punj said.

Earlier in the day when Singh was asked by reporters for his response to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's charge that FDI was aimed at pleasing the US, he responded saying, "What has the US got to do with this. We are not a country to be dictated by others."

Singh asserted that he will do what is good for the country and that reforms are not a one-off process, indicating he will stick to his decisions on FDI in multi-brand retail, diesel price hike and capping of LPG cylinders.