Railways pulled up for promoting MNC brand

NEW DELHI: The Delhi High Court has pulled up the Railways for allegedly promoting multinational brands like Mcdonalds or big domestic food chains such as Nirula''s for setting up vends at railway stations and shutting doors to products by small Indian firms with ISI marking.
"I would like to be enlightened whether there could be a policy only to promote multinationals or big brand names by debarring the sale of other ISI marked Indian products on railway stations," Justice S N Kapoor said.
Directing the Railway Ministry and Railway Board to file detailed affidavits on the policy on allocation of vends at railway stations by July 24, the Court said Government should not ignore the fact that the purchasing power of a large section of passengers was not very high.
"No doubt, the symbols of prosperity like Mcdonalds or Nirulas may also be needed but tens of thousands of poor hawkers may not be ousted from the railway stations," the Court said, while hearing a petition by a hawker seeking to restrain Railways from alloting a vend to a contractor of a juice corner chain at Delhi station, which would be largely selling the products of multinationals or big Indian brands.
Taking exception to the reply filed by Railways to the petition, Justice Kapoor said "I am sure this has been filed without appreciating the implications. If this is the policy, then it appears to be null and void, as it seems to be contrary to Article 14 and 16 of the Constitution because it is against the interest of poor."