With the Swadesh Jagran Manch, an RSS-front to espouse the cause of Swadeshi, questioning the NDA government’s relaxing of FDI norms in 15 sectors, the government is witnessing opposition from within Sangh Parivar circles to its bid to attract investment.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS) — the Sangh’s arm active among workers — has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, urging a dialogue be initiated with all stakeholders on the issue.
“Overall, FDI is not the path of the nation’s progress. While it can be allowed in specific sectors, it isn’t our stand that FDI is the development path for India,” Manch Akhil Bharatiya Prachar Pramukh Deepak Sharma ‘Pradeep’ told The Hindu . “The nation can grow with its own strength and capital. It is capable of it.”
He said the organisation would go through the notification in detail and would come out with a detailed response.
Letter to PMThe BMS, which had raised questions on the policy on Thursday, has also written to the Prime Minister requesting that a meeting of all stakeholders be called in relation to the policy.
The letter has also asked for a white paper on FDI.
The Hindu had reported on Friday that BMS wanted a white paper on reports that “foreign direct outflows were eight times higher” than the FDI that came to India.
This follows another letter from the BMS to the PM and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley two days earlier that made two other demands: a complete ban on FDI in retail and a strategic assessment of FDI in Defence before going ahead with it.
The Swadeshi Jagran Manch also agrees with these two points raised by BMS.
Scathing write-upA write-up prepared by BMS is scathing: “India’s thrust and dependence on foreign capital flows has increased.
For all maladies, whether it is deficit or devaluation, there is only one remedy with the reformists and foreign economists – bring FDI at any cost, i.e., only foreign capital can save us. FDI is the economic panacea, instead of encouraging self-sufficiency in the economy. FDI is supposed to bring enough dollars to defend the rupee. All the three ways to correct it as proposed in the last budget, viz., FDI, FII and external borrowing, are detrimental to India’s economic interests.”
While many see these organisations as no longer relevant to policy making – and ones that would not embarrass the government beyond a point – the BMS has been given some credit for the government’s going back on the land acquisition Bill amendments that were aimed at making it easier to acquire farmland for industry.
