The BJP's big bang announcement on FDI came two days after the Bihar debacle and a day before PM Modi left on his first tour of the United Kingdom aimed at drawing investment. (File Photo: PM Narendra Modi)
The Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh, an affiliate of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh or RSS, has threatened to hit the streets with a protest against the government easing norms for foreign direct investment or FDI in key sectors like retail and defence.
In letters to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, it has asked the government to urgently call a meeting of what it calls 'stakeholders' to review the FDI bonanza announced on Tuesday.
"Eight times of what we get in FDI goes out of the country...The retail sector should be protected or else the economy will collapse," said Vrijesh Upadhyay of the Bhartiya Majdoor Sangh or BMS, which is the trade union arm of the RSS, the ruling BJP's ideological mentor.
The BMS has been consistent in its opposition to FDI. But its protest threat comes at a time when the BJP is reeling from a big defeat in the Bihar assembly election that has given rise to fears that a galavanised opposition will stall key reforms with renewed vigour. The ruling party can ill-afford resistance from the Sangh Parivar or family, the term used to describe the RSS and its affiliates, including the BJP.
The BJP's big bang announcement on FDI came two days after the Bihar debacle and a day before PM Modi left on his first tour of the United Kingdom aimed at drawing investment. It was an assurance of the government's unflinching commitment to reforms.
"The Prime Minister has reiterated that the economic well being of the people of India is the main task before him," the commerce ministry had said in a statement.
The adverse result in Bihar last weekend has also emboldened veteran rebels in the BJP to launch a scathing attack on PM Modi and party chief Amit Shah, who led the campaign and election strategy in the state. Four party elders including LK Advani have demanded a thorough review of what went wrong in Bihar and want accountability to be fixed.
In a joint statement issued on Tuesday night, they also questioned the leadership of PM Modi and Amit Shah, alleging that, "The principal reason for the latest defeat is the way the Party has been emasculated in the last year."