Several Indian political parties Sunday called for a nation-wide strike on September 20 to protest the government's decisions to allow foreign investment in the supermarket sector and to hike the price of diesel fuel.
The opposition National Democratic Alliance, which is led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and includes several regional parties, said the government had failed to consult other groups before making the decisions.
"This is the betrayal of parliament, people and thousands of traders in the country," BJP leader Lal Krishna Advani said at a press briefing announcing Thursday's 12-hour general strike.
"This is something which the country is not going to take lying down," he said.
India's two main Communist parties, along with regional Samajwadi Party of Uttar Pradesh state and the Telugu Desam Party of Andhra Pradesh, have also urged people to participate in strike.
India's federal cabinet decided Friday to permit up to 51-per-cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in companies, such as department stores, that sell multiple brands.