Closure call against FDI in retail sector in India gets partial to complete response

New Delhi, Dec 1 (PTI) An all-India bandh (closure) called by traders to protest against foreign direct investment in retail Thursday evoked partial to complete response but neighbourhood shops by and large remained open. Shopkeepers in many cities took out marches demanding a rollback of the government move even as traders' bodies said the decision will create an uneven playing field in the country which will tilt towards multi-national companies and prove to be a "nightmare" for traders and consumers. Confederation of All India Traders' (CAIT) Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal claimed traders across the country were participating in the day-long strike. However, reports reaching here said the response to it was partial in Delhi, Bihar and Assam. "Around five crore (50 million) traders belonging to 10,000 traders' bodies across the country are participating in the bandh. Traders took out marches in commercial markets across the country," Khandelwal said. Big markets of Delhi like Karol Bagh, Sadar Bazar, Kamla Nagar, Chawri Bazar, Kashmere Gate, Tilak Nagar, Rohini, Krishna Nagar and Greater Kailash M Block remained closed while Sarojini Nagar and INA markets functioned as usual. Neighbourhood shops were also open even as the protest received support from political parties like BJP and the Left. BJP also joined the strike in Delhi by organising marches and burnt effigies of Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in at least 20 locations of the city. Small and medium traders across Maharashtra including Mumbai downed their shutters. Federation of Assciations of Maharashtra (FAM), the apex body of 750 trade, transport and small-scale associations, claimed that about 3.5 million traders in the state had joined the strike. Most shops and establishments in West Bengal downed their shutters including in the wholesale market in Posta area of Burrabazar, the largest in the state. Shops and business establishments in southern states Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and eastern state Odisha by and large remained shut. Maintaining that there was no need for foreign investment in the sector, Khandelwal said here, "The Government should withdraw the permission of FDI in retail". He said Indian retail sector was being run successfully by the indigenous capital at the rate of 15 per cent and contributing 10 per cent of GDP. "So no FDI was required". PTI Caption for pic: Tourists walk past closed shops at the Janpath market in New Delhi on Thursday during the traders' nationwide protest against the Indian government's decision to allow FDI in muti-brand retail. PTI Photo