Communist Party of India general secretary A.B. Bardhan said here on Tuesday that the party would sustain pressure on the Union government till it rolled back its decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.
At a “meet the press,” organised by the Andhra Pradesh Union of Working Journalists, Mr. Bardhan said the CPI was not satisfied with Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee's assurance that the decision would be put on hold.
Move not given up
Mr. Mukherjee's statement implied that the move was not given up. It was only being “held back” as the government realised that this was not the right time.
The CPI leader said the UPA had put the decision on hold as some of its allies ‘betrayed' it. “They [UPA] will try to convince the allies and implement the decision at an opportune time.”
Huge market
He said multinational companies had set their sights on the huge retail market contributing to close to 10 per cent of the GDP.
The livelihood of almost 20 crore people was dependent on street corner and neighbourhood stores and it would be severely affected once MNCs entered the sector.
MNCs were trying to muscle in to maximise their profits. There was no truth in the claims that it would develop backend infrastructure required for retail business. “They [the MNCs] will look at profits and they will not prefer to invest,” he said.
Domestic producers would be severely affected as transnational companies would purchase goods where they were the cheapest and sell at higher prices here.
“Coconut, for instance, is much cheaper in Sri Lanka. Why will they procure coconuts at higher prices here?” he said.
Merger efforts on
Mr. Bardhan said efforts were on for merger of the CPI with the CPI (Marxist), but it would take some time as several issues, including organisational structure, had to be sorted out.
“The demand has been there from the sympathisers and cadre of the two parties, but it is not the case of announcing a merger today and split tomorrow,” he said.
Same perception
Changes in this direction were certainly taking place as the two parties had the same perception on national and international issues.
“We make rival claims as separate parties during election time. We are coming closer through joint action on all major issues,” he said.
