NEW DELHI: India's government faced pressure Tuesday to backtrack on reforms opening the retail sector to foreign chains such as Wal-Mart, after an all-party meeting on the issue failed to reach a consensus.
Both houses of parliament were forced to adjourn as lawmakers protested against the major liberalisation changes announced last week that could see the arrival of large, multi-brand international supermarkets in India.
Anger over the reforms has united small shopkeepers, trade unions, influential state leaders and lawmakers both from opposition parties and from within Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's ruling coalition.
The all-party meeting on Tuesday, chaired by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee to tackle the deadlock, broke up without a deal being reached, and parliament remained paralysed by noisy protests against the reforms.
"We have demanded a rollback of the decision," said Sudip Bandopadhyay, a leader of the Trinamool Congress party, one of the largest groups within Singh's government.
"Such matters should be discussed with (government) partners," he added, highlighting criticism that the reforms were approved by the cabinet on Thursday evening without a parliamentary vote.
Mohan Singh, spokesman for the opposition Samajwadi Party, vowed that protests by lawmakers against allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in the retail sector would continue until the government backed down.
"Without government withdrawing the FDI decision, parliament cannot function smoothly," he told reporters after the hour-long meeting.
Foreign multinationals have for years lobbied to sell directly to Indian consumers, and the changes could herald a consumer revolution in the country where most shoppers frequent small, family-run stores.
Since returning to power in 2009, Premier Singh's second administration has struggled to push through reforms amid regular parliamentary deadlocks over rampant corruption and soaring inflation.
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