Punjab's Akali Dal government may have agreed to toe the NDA line and oppose FDI in multi-brand retail but Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Badal said the state could do an about-turn and welcome the move if the Centre builds a consensus and addresses the fears of farmers and small traders.
“Our opposition is to the way the reform has been forced upon the country by the UPA. If the Centre had not acted as a dictator, we may have welcomed FDI in retail,” said Badal junior, who has supported the change in the past and had, in fact, written to Commerce Minister Anand Sharma in 2011 welcoming FDI in retail.
The state government’s position and Badal’s comments come amid growing pressure in support of reform in the agrarian state. The Punjab Farmers’ Commission, the government’s advisory body on agriculture, says FDI is an opportunity for Punjab to look beyond paddy.
Another important voice in the government supporting FDI in retail is that of Ajmer Singh Lakhowal, BKU (Lakhowal) president who was appointed head of the Punjab Mandi Board by Badal.
What Sukhbir Singh Badal, Deputy CM wrote to Anand Sharma:
“We strongly believe that opening FDI in multi-brand retail will bring in the expertise, experience and resources of foreign retailers. A major beneficiary of back-end investments would be farmers, who will gain substantially through agricultural best-practices of international retail companies, thus improving the quality and quantity of their yield, and will also get better remuneration. Investments in supply chain infrastructure and stores would also generate hundreds of thousands of employment opportunities for rural and urban youth. An efficient supply chain will also help decrease inflation. Considering these benefits, I offer my complete support to you and your government for taking this major step that will benefit millions of farmers and youth in our stat”.”
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