Mumbai: Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray on Monday took a dig at Manmohan Singh over allowing FDI in retail, saying how can a Prime Minister who "failed" to convince a former ally like Mamata Banerjee on this issue try to convince the people of the country.
Thackeray also said the Prime Minister's address to the nation on September 21 was "most laughable" and that he "shamelessly" defended Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail and rise in diesel prices.
"How can a Prime Minister who failed to convince Mamata Banerjee on the issues of FDI in retail, try to convince the people of the country," Thackeray said in an editorial in party mouthpiece 'Saamana'.
The Prime Minister's address to the nation was "most laughable" and quite unprecedented, he said. There might not have been a more laughable speech in India's history, he added.
The move to bring in FDI in multi-brand retail had angered trading community, the Sena chief said. The increase in diesel prices has also adversely affected the common man, he added.
On Manmohan Singh's remark that "money does not grow on trees", Thackeray said, "does money emanate from coal mines, or from fodder (scam) or Bofors (scam)?"
"The PM says there is no money, then why are largesses heaped on Muslims," Thackeray asked. He wondered how the government was going to fund food security and the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MNREGA).
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