FDI in India retail: 'Kirana' shops unaffected by bandh

NEW DELHI: Neighbourhood and small stores for protection of whose interest an all-India bandh against FDI in retail was called today were by and large open while major markets responded to it with partial to complete shutdown.

BJP and other opposition parties have demanded a rollback on the FDI decision and the response to the bandh call in opposition-ruled Gujarat and Bihar was partial. In Delhi, Andhra Pradesh and Assam also it was partial.

'Kirana' and neighbourhood shops remained open in a majority of places. In Delhi, markets like Sarojini Nagar and INA disassociated from the day-long strike call, saying the protest was uncalled for.

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 strike.

"Around five crore 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 like Karol Bagh, Sadar Bazar, Kamla Nagar, Chawri Bazar, Kashmere Gate, Tilak Nagar, Rohini, Krishna Nagar and Greater Kailash M Block in Delhi remained closed.

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 Associations of Maharashtra (FAM), the apex body of 750 trade, transport and small-scale associations, claimed that about 35 lakh traders in the state had joined the strike.