Mixed response to FDI strike in Punjab, Haryana
December 1st, 2011 - 6:17 pm ICT by IANS
Chandigarh, Dec 1 (IANS) The nationwide strike call given by trading associations against foreign investiment in retail saw a muted to mixed response in parts of Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh Thursday.
Shop-owners downed their shutters in some areas of Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala, Sangrur and Bathinda cities of Punjab. Markets remained shut for a couple of hours in the morning in various other towns too but opened later.
The nationwide protest against Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in retail sector was called by the Confederation of All India Trade Associations to demand rollback of the cabinet decision to permit 51 percent foreign equity in multi-brand retailing and 100 percent in single-brand format.
In Chandigarh, most of the markets functioned normally for the better part of the day. Some traders associations and activists of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) held demonstrations.
In Amritsar, the local MP, Navjot Singh Sidhu, led the protest against the central government’s decision to allow FDI in retail.
“I will quit politics if anyone defeats me in a debate on allowing FDI in retail,” Sidhu told reporters in Amritsar.
The BJP’s alliance partner in Punjab, the ruling Shiromani Akali Dal has so far sided with the decision to allow FDI in retail.
In Haryana, where a Congress-led government is in power, the strike evoked a mixed response.
Some shops remained closed in Sonepat, Panipat and a few other towns. Business in other parts of the state remained normal.
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- Strike: Mixed response in Punjab, poor in Haryana (Lead) - Jul 05, 2010
- FDI will revolutionise retail sector: Government - Nov 27, 2011
- Strike against FDI in retail affects life in Tripura - Dec 01, 2011
- Parliament again shuts down over FDI - Nov 30, 2011
- Bharti Walmart planning more wholesale stores, Punjab is focus - Aug 06, 2010
- PMK's Ramadoss opposes FDI in retail - Nov 25, 2011
- FDI in retail could help consumers, farmers - Feb 25, 2011
- FDI in retail: Complete shutdown in Himachal - Dec 01, 2011
- India allows 100 percent FDI in single brand retail - Jan 10, 2012
- FDI war: Deadlock deepens, BJP rejects Congress truce offer (Intro Roundup) - Nov 30, 2011
Tags: activists, alliance partner, amritsar, bathinda, bharatiya janata party, cabinet decision, central government, confederation, demonstrations, fdi in retail sector, foreign direct investment, haryana, india trade, investiment, navjot singh sidhu, panipat, rollback, sangrur, shutters, trade associations