Agitation against FDI in retail "melodramatic": Cong

New Delhi, Oct 4:

today dubbed as "melodramatic" the agitations on the issue of

in retail and taunted its critics that the parties which had opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal were defeated in the last Lok Sabha polls.

Party spokesman PC Chacko told reporters that assembly elections in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh would provide it an opportunity to reach out to the people on the FDI issue on which some opposition parties were resorting to "obstructive tactics".

In an apparent reference to Left parties, he said those organisations, which had opposed the Indo-US nuclear deal, had been defeated in the elections. Noting that the field has been left open for each and every state government to decide which way they want to swing on FDI in retail issue and there was no compulsion.

He said, "but certainly we feel one cannot play spoilsport and hinder the progress..." Maintaining that the move and other reform measures were needed to rejuvenate the economy, he said, "cynical political outfits presume that entry of mega retailers could result in lower remuneration for farmers and eradication of small retailers. This is totally illogical."

He claimed there was an "absurd crescendo" of protest arising out of the decision, including from "some political parties" which had recently bid goodbye to UPA, an apparent reference to Trinamool Congress and Jharkhand Vikas Morcha. "Undue skepticism persists in some quarters over the advantages this will achieve," he said, adding political parties should refrain from resorting to "melodramatic" bandhs’ and dharnas just for the sake of scoring some brownie points.

Citing the example of China, he said, Walmart entered that country some two decades ago and has opened over 300 stores till date. "Yet it just has only 5 per cent of the market share in China after twenty years. Local Chinese retail companies are all bigger than Walmart in China."a

PTI