Seeking a government

The UPA's decision to allow FDI in retail compounds the flaws in its economic policy

There are several issues of importance that the general public is concerned about that are not being tackled by the government. For the last three years, there has been a lack of governance in the country. The country has also been in a state of impairment due to the many alleged scams and cases of corruption that have been unearthed. That is why the government is faced with so many demonstrations against corruption and has to deal with public servants virtually not working because of its lack of decisiveness, which has resulted in a slowdown in GDP growth. The UPA has brought down the country's GDP growth to 5.5 per cent, and to compound that the government has decided to allow foreign direct investment in multibrand retail, which is against the interests of the Indian people. The country is going through a bad phase in part due to the incompetence of the people at the helm. In my view, a government elected by the people should serve the country for a full five years, but the way this government has demonstrated its lack of concern for the poor and is alleged to be involved in so many scams, the day is not far when it may have to go.

We are followers of Ram Manohar Lohia and Charan Singh and our ideology and actions are based on their thinking. FDI in multibrand retail would hurt kirana shops and small vendors in our country. This is not the same Congress party as in the past, until the time of Rajiv Gandhi. Even Sonia Gandhi does not seem to care about the poor, as she has maintained her silence about the measures her government is taking — measures that will have an adverse impact on 25 crore people. We will come out on the streets against the government's move to bring FDI in multibrand retail and continue to fight against the decision. The market share of unorganised retail in the country is 97 per cent of the total retail sector, as compared to the organised retail sector, which accounts for only 2-3 per cent. The unorganised sector contributes about 14 per cent to the GDP and absorbs a large part of our labour force. If FDI is allowed in multibrand retail, those affected will primarily be traditional kirana shops, general merchants, paan beedi shops, etc. Worst affected will be the small vendors — women carrying small items over their heads and others selling items on roadside pavements.

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