Chennai, Sept. 17: The BJP today scorned the Left for its “contradictory” stands on economic reforms in Bengal and Delhi and accused the Centre of allowing the CPM and CPI to derail the liberalisation process.

The economic resolution adopted by the BJP’s national executive also opposed FDI in retail while placing a 20-point charter of demands before the Manmohan Singh government.

“It is ironical that what the Left parties oppose at the Centre, they support in Bengal,” BJP spokesman V.K. Malhotra told a news conference here.

“In West Bengal, divestments and privatisation of public sector undertakings and foreign direct investments are taking place unabated,” but the Left is opposing these in Delhi.

Even in the capital the Left has adopted a dual stance, Malhotra alleged. The CPI and CPM attack the government on issues of economic reforms, even calling strikes and bandhs; but inside Parliament, “they meekly support the government”.

Malhotra then charged the United Progressive Alliance regime with “kneeling before the Left parties at the cost of national interests, overawed by their fear and threats”.

The Centre, as shown by the increasing imports, decreasing exports and other indices, “has utterly failed on the economic front”, Malhotra alleged.

Elaborating on the BJP’s economic resolution, the spokesman said his party favours FDI infusion in “most of the sectors” but opposes it in retail because it would lead to large-scale unemployment.

P.N. Vijay, convener of the BJP’s economic cell, who was present at the news conference, added that many in the national executive opposed FDI in retail. The small- and middle-level businessmen are the pivot of the Indian urban economy and they have no safeguards whatsoever, the conclave felt, Vijay said.

He explained that the low duties ensured by the free import regime along with the “franchise route” have brought the benefits of globalisation to the Indian consumer. Therefore, FDI in retail is not required.

The resolution, however, has not referred to the issue of several states still not having switched over to value-added tax, Malhotra said. The reason is that intra-party discussions with chief ministers of BJP-ruled states are still on. The party wants VAT introduced on a “uniform scale”, he said.

Asked why the BJP was ducking the issue, Malhotra eventually said: “Our final position on VAT will be conveyed in the next few months.”

The BJP termed the rural job guarantee scheme as grossly inadequate, because it “ignores” the 4 crore educated unemployed in urban areas. On the party’s list of demands is one that urges the Centre to pass a job guarantee bill for the urban unemployed in the next session of Parliament.

The party also favours job guarantees for all adults, and not just one able-bodied person, in a family and wants the minimum daily wage fixed at Rs 75. The rural scheme should be extended to every district of the country within two years, Malhotra said.

The BJP also wants the Centre to stabilise the prices of petrol, diesel and cooking gas by slashing import and excise duties, encourage the use of bio-fuels and scrap the fringe benefit tax on employers.