Kolkata: Senior BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Saturday said his party was not against supporting the financial reform bills if the government approached it with 'integrity and courage', but will remain opposed to FDI in multibrand retail.
Sinha, chairman of the Parliament Standing Committee on Finance said that at a recent meeting with Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, the government was asked to first put its house in order before seeking support to clear bills in the Parliament.
Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA) Bill, Banking Laws Amendment Bill and Insurance Bill are among some of the key economic reforms bills pending for consideration.
"PFRDA Bill was first introduced in 2005 and we had tendered support, but then after opposition from an ally (Left Front), it was kept on hold till the last elections as the government did not have the courage," Sinha said during an interaction at the Bharat Chamber of Commerce. "Later another ally (Trinamool Congress) is against the bill," he said.
Sinha indicated that government should be firm on its stand and should not succumb to coalition political pressures "and thus needs courage."
Supporting the need for GST agenda, Sinha said it was unfortunate that the government failed to bring consensus and bring the Standing Committee of State Finance Ministers into confidence and hoped that the problems would be solved.
On multi brand retail FDI, Sinha said the party remained against it as it was concerned about employment issues.
Sinha also said that he was worried about the long term economy with the announcements made being inadequate to meet the challenges the country was facing.
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