Aam Admi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday demanded a referendum on FDI in retail.
In Parliamentary democracy, a referendum is a ballot question that people vote on for an answer.
According to him, the Central Government was able to win votes at both the Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha because it used the threat of investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to force politicians to vote in its favour.
“We all know how politicians behaved inside the Parliament during the debate on FDI in retail. The issue ( FDI in retail) should be brought under a referendum since debates were not carried out properly,” Kejriwal told reporters during PanIIT meet.
“The Central Government was able to win votes in both Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha, because it used the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to force some of the politicians to vote accordingly,” he further alleged.
According to Kejriwal, FDI would not help farmers. It would rather help foreign majors earn windfall by exploiting both the farmers and the end consumers. The FDI majors would also control pricing of items. “Politics used to be a noble profession during the freedom movement. Now the culture has changed. People are using it with a bad intention,” he said.
West Bengal politics
Replying to a question on West Bengal politics, he said it is for the people to decide whether there at all has been any change or improvement in governance in the State.
He, however, stopped short of criticising the Mamata Banerjee-led State Government, but said it was for the people to decide if they were happy with her governance or not.
“People in West Bengal can only decide if they are experiencing any change or not. It is for the people to decide whether there has been any real change or just a change in faces.” abhishek.l@thehindu.co.in