IndiaRetailBiz

“If big capitalists enter the retail sector, one crore small traders will suffer,” Mamta Banerjee, Chief, Trinamul Congress.

Reliance Retail’s re-entry into West Bengal with the opening of three ‘Reliance Fresh’ stores in Kolkata on Friday the 1st August 2008, as reported earlier, has begun to show cracks in the state’s ruling Left Front.

All India Forward Bloc (AIFB), which since beginning has been in forefront of opposition to entry of big corporates in retail, and whose workers had vandalised two of the ‘Fresh’ stores under construction before puja celebrations last year, has demanded to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the “backdoor entry” of Reliance into the food retail market of West Bengal.

It may be recalled that this time Reliance has smartly come around the contentious issue of selling fresh foods by asking Keventer Fresh– a back-end supplier of ‘fresh’ products to a number of retail chains in Kolkata– to offer the same to customers in its stores. AIFB is calling it as a “back door entry” of Reliance in this business.

Keventer Fresh, owned by a local entrepreneur Mahendra Jalan, is believed to have been selling only imported fruits and vegetables in the stores, however, according to AIFB’s state secretary Ashok Ghosh’s claim, “it is also selling local vegetables.” “This will affect poor farmers. With whose permission have they entered our retail sector through the backdoor?” asked Ghosh.

“I want the government to immediately convene an all-party meeting to take the opinion of all main political parties. I would also request Left Front chairman Biman Bose to discuss it with the Left Front at the earliest,” said Ghosh, while claiming that the Left Front was not taken into confidence when the decision to allow Reliance in retail was taken.

Ridiculing the demand made by AIFB, Trinamool Congress’ firebrand leader Mamata Banerjee asked, “How can Forward Bloc talk about an all-party meeting on the Reliance retail entry when it was part of the state government’s decision to give license to the company for opening up of the shops?”

While talking to the reporters, she also refused to participate in the meeting saying, ”we won’t attend the all-party meeting if any.”

Mamta Benerjee, whose party workers had also protested against Reliance’s entry last last year, reiterated her resolve to fight tooth and nail against the entry of big players in the retail sector.