Traders to launch nationwide protest against FDI in retail

Protesting the government's move to open up retail trade to Foreign Direct Investment (FDI), the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra (FAM) today decided to rope-in retail trade bodies to launch a nationwide campaign to protest the move.

"We are opposing the entry of FDI in retail trade as it will eliminate 4.5-crore retailers in the country. We are meeting Members of Parliament (MPs) of opposition parties and will approach and appeal to all retail trade organisations that they should launch a countrywide campaign against the move," FAM's President Mohan Gurnani told reporters here.

"We are opposing it since last over a decade. The main reason behind the protest is that FDI will ruin local retail traders and lakhs of people depending upon it. We successfully stalled the proposal during NDA regime. But the UPA government has again started the process to bring it in," Gurnani said.

He alleged that it has been the modus operandi of multi-national companies (MNCs) to systematically ruin the market and then start exploitation of consumers as well as farmers.

Reacting to the discussion paper released by the Director of Industrial Policy and Promotion (Commerce Ministry) on the subject of Foreign Direct Investment in retail trade, Gurnani said FDI in retail would be a disastrous move and hence the Government of India needed to muster courage and tell transnational retail giants like Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Metro Gmbh and Shoprite, to not to set up shop in India.

MNCs talk of free trade and competition, but in reality they want to establish their monopolies in retail markets wherever they operate. Because of such unhealthy practices, Walmart was asked three years ago to close down all its shops in Germany and South Korea, Gurnani said.