| The retailers, who stayed away from the protest, said the rally was called by wholesale traders and commission agents, who feared losing out to big retail. They added that the wholesalers anyway were not concerned with neighbourhood retail shops. |
| The protesters threatened to call a nationwide strike if the Union government did not respond to their demands by January 26. Addressing the rally, Mohan Gurnani, the president of the Federation of Associations of Maharashtra, said no FDI should be allowed in retail and urged the government to cancel licences given to retail chains and cash-and-carry majors such as Germany's Metro. |
| He also called for the abolition of the model Agriculture Produce Market Committee (APMC) Act and asked the government to formulate a national retail policy to protect the interests of small retailers. |
| Speaker after speaker, including politicians such as former MP Shyam Bihari Mishra and Banwarilal Kanchan, who have opposed the entry of RelianceFresh into Uttar Pradesh, stressed that big corporates entering the retail sector would initially offer freebies to consumers, higher rates to farmers in the name of eliminating middlemen and lure manufacturers with promises of large orders. However, they would begin exploiting the stakeholders concerned after establishing their hegemony, they added. |
| The rally was called to protest against the advance of retail chains, whose sales are forecast to increase more than eight-fold to $97 billion by 2012. |
| In recent weeks, there have been widespread protests "� at times turning violent "� in Uttar Pradesh, Orissa, West Bengal and Kerala. |
| The government has allowed 51 per cent foreign direct investment in single-brand retail. Finance Minister Chidambaram recently said the government was considering easing the FDI norms further. |
| India bars foreign investment in multi-brand retailers, preventing Wal-Mart, the biggest retailer globally, and Carrefour SA from opening consumer outlets in the world's second-fastest growing major economy. |
| In August, Wal-Mart and New Delhi-based Bharti agreed to set up wholesale stores and a supply chain unit. Edelman, the public relation agency the represents Wal-Mart in India didn't immediately provide a comment today. |
| Mahindra group, which owns the country's biggest tractor and sports-utility vehicle maker, today said it plans to enter into the retail business. The company didn't provide further details. The Uttar Pradesh state government ordered the temporary closure of Reliance stores in two cities after a group of traders ransacked some of the company's outlets on August 22. |
| Stores owned by Reliance and Subhiksha Trading Services have also been vandalized in Orissa and Jharkhand. In Kerala, the state government plans to restrict the number of stores that big companies can open. |
| "We will give the central government till January 26 to respond to our demands and if our demands aren't met, we will go for a nationwide strike," Mohan Gurnani, president of Federation of the Association of Maharashtra, an affiliate of Vyapaar Rozgar, told reporters in Mumbai today. "The central government has to protect the livelihoods of nearly 50 million" people employed in the retail sector.Vyapaar Rozgar's demands also include a national policy on retail and a blanket ban on all big companies in retail and wholesale. |
| "The state governments of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh have shown political maturity and were quick to see the writing on the wall and pass laws curbing the entry and growth of corporations in the retail sector," the organization said earlier in a statement. |
| It has called for a termination of the license of Metro, which runs wholesale stores in India. Store chains will account for about 16 per cent of total retail sales in 2012 compared with 4 per cent this year, according to projections by consultant Technopak Advisors Pvt.ly 50 million" people employed in the retail sector.Vyapaar Rozgar's demands also include a national policy on retail and a blanket ban on all big companies in retail and wholesale. |
| "The state governments of Kerala and Uttar Pradesh have shown political maturity and were quick to see the writing on the wall and pass laws curbing the entry and growth of corporations in the retail sector," the organization said earlier in a statement. |
| It has called for a termination of the license of Metro, which runs wholesale stores in India. Store chains will account for about 16 per cent of total retail sales in 2012 compared with 4 per cent this year, according to projections by consultant Technopak Advisors Pvt. |
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