-IANS
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee on Wednesday met Congress MPs after calling on party president Sonia Gandhi to discuss the standoff over the decision to allow foreign equity in retail.
The government’s known troubleshooter held a brief meeting with Gandhi at her 10 Janpath residence before meeting party MPs to allay their apprehensions on the decision to allow 51 percent foreign direct investment ( FDI) in multi-brand retail and 100 percent in single brand retail, sources said.
Congress sources said Mukherjee strongly defended the government’s decision and asked party MPs not to oppose it because it was taken in the interest of the nation.
The meeting assumes significance in the wake of opposition to the move from within the party.
Congress MP from Uttar Pradesh Sanjay Singh Tuesday criticised the government, saying the move would hurt the poor and the timing was not right because of the upcoming assembly elections in his state.
Kerala Congress chief Ramesh Chennithala has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh opposing the decision. He has also requested Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy not to implement the move in the state.
The decision has also come in for sharp criticism from the opposition and some key allies of the Congress in the ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA).
The standoff with the opposition has led to a logjam in parliament, which could not run at all for the first six days of the 21-day winter session that began last Tuesday.