Indian shopkeepers close their doors, take to streets to protest entry of foreign retail
By The Associated Press | The Canadian Press – 1 hour 35 minutes ago
An Indian participates in a protest against Foreign Direct Investment in retail, …
Opposition lawmakers again forced Parliament to adjourn, demanding the government immediately rescind last week's decision.
Hundreds of traders marching in New Delhi burned Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in effigy and waved signs calling for the rollback of the policy. One sign showed foreign investment as a raging dinosaur.
Amid the furor, Ikea chief executive Mikael Ohlsson quietly concluded his India trip without making a much-anticipated announcement about Ikea's investment plans.
"We have decided to take some more time to plan the next actions. We look forward to present more information about our expansion plans shortly," Ikea spokeswoman Josefin Thorell said by email.
The strike called by the Confederation of All India Traders was only partially observed in New Delhi, Mumbai and other cities, with many shops still open and others only closing for a few hours.
The Cabinet decided it would allow foreign retailers to own up to 51 per cent of supermarkets and 100 per cent of single-brand stores and set up shops in major cities.
The government says the foreign retailers will help build up infrastructure, reduce the amount of food that spoils and lower prices for consumers hit by high food inflation. Shopowners fear the entry of companies such as Wal-Mart and Tesco will crush local mom-and-pop stores and eliminate millions of jobs.
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By Erika Kinetz,Ravi Nessman, The Associated Press
NEW DELHI - India on Wednesday suspended its plan to open its huge retail sector to foreign companies such as Wal-Mart in a reversal seen as a major capitulation to political opponents that further weakens the administration.
The business community had hailed the initial decision to let foreign firms own a majority stake in retailers here just two weeks ago, and the government and some economists said foreign retailers would bring better prices for farmers and lower prices for consumers.
But opposition parties and even some members of the governing coalition protested, saying the local mom-and-pop stores that are the heart of Indian retailing would be crushed. Opposition lawmakers disrupted Parliament for days in protest.
On Wednesday, the government met with all the parties in Parliament to hammer out a deal: It would suspend the decision if they would let the legislature function.
Afterward, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee told Parliament that the foreign retail plan was "suspended until a consensus is developed through consultations with various stakeholders."
It was not clear how long that process would take or whether the policy would be implemented or cancelled as a result.
Sushma Swaraj, an opposition parliamentarian, welcomed the government's move. "To bow before the people's feeling does not weaken the government, but strengthen the democracy," she told Parliament.
Other opponents claimed victory.
"It is a virtual rollback," said Gurudas Dasgupta, a Communist Party lawmaker.
"This is a signal that this government can't do anything with force," said Ashok Gulati, chairman of the Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices in the Ministry of Agriculture. "It's the nation that loses."
I suspect that sankirtana coupled with an organized passive resistance movement, such as utilized by Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, success can be had.