Political body opposes Walmart-Flipkart deal

BENGALURU: As Walmart CEO Doug Macmillan and other top executives are expected to fly down to officially announce the retail giant’s investment in Indian ecommerce company Flipkart, there may be a few hurdles on the way. Political and cultural association Swadeshi Jagaran Manch (SJM) has requested the commerce minister Suresh Prabhu to withhold meeting Walmart officials, according to a tweet on Tuesday.

“SJM requested commerce minister @sureshpprabhu to refrain from meeting Walmart officials.

Flipkart Walmart deal is not only illegal, also antifarmers, anti-entrepreneurs and is a back door entry of MNCs in multi brand retail in India. SJM to oppose the deal,” reads the tweet posted by Ashwani Mahajan, national co-convenor of Swadeshi Jagaran Manch.


Another section that is unhappy with this deal are the merchants on the marketplace, who are jittery because they are uncertain of the repercussions of the impending deal on their businesses, according to a recent news report.

Walmart is expected to own approximately a 60% stake in Flipkart with Alphabet taking 15% ownership in the company, making the two a combined owner of three-fourth of the online marketplace, according to a Reuters report.