Modi calls PM 'Singham for foreigners', slams FDI in retail

Bhavnagar - Dubbing Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh as "Singham for foreigners", Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi Saturday said the country wanted to know how many "Italian businessmen" would benefit by the decision to allow FDI in retail.

"You (Prime Minister) are allowing foreign traders to enter India.....What would be the percentage of businessmen from Italy, the country wants to know," Modi said.

"How many businessmen from Italy are going to take advantage of this? How many businessmen from Italy are going to come to India to run grocery stores?" Modi said, addressing a youth convention here.

Quoting the PM's reported statement that he would rather "go down fighting" to push the economic reforms, Modi said: "Dr Manmohan Singh has overnight turned Singham."

Singham is the name of a tough-cop protagaonist of a Bollywood film starring Ajay Devgan.

"Dr Manmohan Singh, you don't have that strength in your bones that you can die fighting....Instead you should have said 'we will fight dying every moment' (marte-marte ladenge)," Modi said.

"In the last eight years of his rule, I have seen the Prime Minister showing spine and holding his head high only twice.

"The first time when he was signing the nuclear treaty with US, and all his allies were opposing it....He said if my government has to go, let it go, I will sign the nuclear treaty at any cost.

"Whenever the issue of corruption comes up, the Prime Minister cites coalition dharma as a constraint," Modi said.

"(But) For the second time, the PM has again done it for the foreigners (defying the allies), so that they can come here to conquer the trade of India and take away employment," Modi said.