The National Democratic Alliance government had proposed 100 per cent foreign direct investment in the retail sector, and a lot of work has been done on the issue since the time the BJP-led coalition was in power, Union Law and Justice Minister Salmaan Khursheed said on Friday.
“We have given much thought to [allowing] FDI in retail before we announced it [the decision]. A lot of work has been done all the way from the time when the NDA was in power. The NDA wanted 100 per cent FDI, but we have gone in for 51 per cent only,” he told journalists outside Parliament.
Mr. Khursheed said efforts were on to resolve the issue. “Just because someone screams and shouts that we should rethink is not fair. People are now trying their best to communicate on both the sides and hope some resolution is found.”
The Opposition, led by the BJP and the Left, and the UPA allies, the DMK and the Trinamool Congress, have demanded that the government roll back the decision, arguing that it will hit the growth of the retail sector, thus farmers and consumers alike. But the government counters that it had taken the decision keeping the interests of farmers and consumers in mind and attacks the Opposition for not allowing Parliament to function.
Absolutely right, says Montek
Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission Montek Singh Ahuwalia has defended the decision, asserting that it would help farmers and consumers. “In my view, it is absolutely the right thing to do if you care about farmers and consumers. The view that farmers will be cheated [by foreign players] has no basis.”
Allaying apprehensions of predatory pricing by foreign retail players and loss of jobs, he said: “In 20 years in China, have there been predatory prices?” “This is uninformed rubbish. … This is complete uninformed rubbish.”
The decision, he pointed out, gave the States complete freedom in allowing FDI in retail. “We are not forcing them. For doing retail business, local licences are required. We are not making it mandatory under the FDI policy that if one State has implemented it, the others should do it. If the States don't want, it would not be done.”
