Confederation of All India Traders calls FDI in multi-brand retail to be undemocratic

NAGPUR: Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has said that the government has made vain attempts to show that the order allowing foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail business on September 20 2012 was issued through a democratic process.

According to B C Bhartia the All Party Joint Parliament Committee had on June 8 2009, submitted a report but till date the report has not been discussed nor its recommendations were considered. After this the Department of Industrial Promotion and Policy (DIPP), put a discussion paper on FDI in retail business in the public domain.

Views were invited from the public in general over the issue. There were responses by 175 persons in all out of which 109, opposed the idea and 63 favoured it.

Three remained neutral. The issue was not taken up further, claimed Bhartia. Then a group of secretaries was formed to dwell on the matter. After going into the details the secretaries who represented different ministries did not make any recommendations at all claims Bhartia.

During a discussion in the Parliament in December last year the then finance minister Pranab Mukherjee had assured that consultations will be held with political parties as well as other stake holders.

However, Mukherjee did not fulfill the commitment as farmers, workers, small traders as well as consumers and small scale industries and transporters were not involved in the process, said Bhartia.