Cadre of CPI (Marxist-Leninist) staged a demonstration in front of the Head Post Office here on Tuesday, protesting against the Centre's decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in retail
market.
Terming it as a death knell for retail business in the country, the protestors said letting foreign direct investment into retail business would annihilate hundreds of small traders across the country.
The FDI would also erase the home-grown business, through middle- and lower- income groups were eking out their livelihood. This would wipe out all those retailers from business, the CPI (M-L) cadre further said.
They claimed that there were 12 lakh grocery shops across the country on which thousands of people depended. They all would lose out once the big giants such as Wal-Mart enter the retail market in the country.
This would also lead to the destruction of the country's economy, they claimed, raising slogans against the Congress-led UPA government for taking such an “arbitrary decision”.
The members urged the Centre to scrap the decision and allow the country's small shop owners to survive and spare the consumers from further price hike.
District President of AICCTU, K Natarajan, presided over the agitation, in which frontline cadre of the party took part.
