Hardening her stance against the central government's decision to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee Saturday urged the traders to build a strong public opinion against the decision.
"You should build up strong public opinion against anti-people policies like FDI in multi-brand retail," Banerjee told traders after the task force meeting on prices at the state secretariat here.
She assured the trading community that her government would support their battle against the move to allow up to 51 percent foreign investment in multi-brand retail.
"The chief minister today (Saturday) urged us to hit the streets to build strong public opinion against the central government's latest decisions. We will certainly not allow FDI in multi-brand retail as it would hit small traders hard," said Forum of Traders Organisation of Paschim Banga's joint secretary Rabindranath Koley.
Koley, who was present at the meeting, said the Forum of Traders Organisation would support Confederation of All India Trader's countrywide strike Thursday.
"Shops across Bengal would be closed on Sep 20. It would be a 24-hour strike," Koley added.