UPA ally NCP, which is a major partner in Maharashtra government, suggested in the Lok Sabha that it was not completely on board regarding implementation of FDI in retail, as its leader and Union minister Praful Patel said the state’s coordination committee of the ruling alliance would assess its impact on small retailers. But at the same time, he rejected the Opposition contention that FDI was bad for the country. Mr Patel said while the BJP was opposing FDI in multi-brand retail, the NDA government led by it had furthered the liberalisation policy initiated by the Congress government in the 1990s. The NCP leader said claims that FDI would result in an “earthquake” were unfounded and urged the Opposition against creating a sense of fear among people. He said that today malls were loaded with foreign goods and both Indian and imported commodities were running the markets. Attacking the Shiv Sena, the NCP’s political rival in Maharashtra, Mr Patel said malls selling foreign goods were being constructed by “your leaders”, leading to a war of words between members of the two parties. Terming the economy a two-way traffic system, he said while there are protests over inviting foreign investment in the country, nobody was objecting to Indian companies acquiring entities in other countries. He also claimed that due to presence of foreign chains like McDonald and KFC, Indian chains like Bikanerwala and Haldiram have improved their retail infrastructure. “Just as we are opposing FDI in retail, in America, they are protesting import of software from India. Should we not export to them ” he asked.
