Walmart’s lobbying disclosure embarrasses UPA government
10 Dec 2012
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Opposition parties on Monday demanded a statement from the Prime Minister following reports about American retail giant Walmart admitting that it had spent $25 million (about Rs125 crore) in lobbying for greater market access across the world including in India.
The BJP and the CPI(M), which had last week voted in both houses of Parliament for a resolution seeking the withdrawal of the UPA government's notification allowing FDI in multi-brand retailing, launched a scathing attack on the treasury benches.
For the UPA government, Walmart's disclosure in the US senate about its having spent $25 million in lobbying in different parts of the world came as a major embarrassment days after it had managed to get both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to reject the opposition motion against FDI.
BJP leaders demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should make a statement in Parliament on the issue of lobbying by the American retailer. ''We demand that the Prime Minister should come to the House and make a statement on the issue,'' said Venkaiah Naidu of the BJP. ''It should also be followed up with an independent inquiry.''
Sitaram Yechury of the CPI (M) also demanded a probe into the disclosure by Walmart. ''We are not saying who has taken money or not,'' said Yechury. ''What we are saying is that Walmart itself is saying that it has spent the money. There are cases of corruption in the court. So government should inquire into it.''
Ravi Shankar Prasad, the chief spokesperson of the BJP said that while lobbying was legal in the US, it was banned in India. The government will, therefore, have to investigate whether the company had lobbied for entry into the country over the last few years and who were the middlemen involved.
The Samajwadi Party, which provides outside support to the UPA government – and which had abstained in the voting on the resolution in both houses last week, helping the government win with a slender majority – also demanded a probe into the lobbying.
The Walmart disclosure had its impact in the Rajya Sabha, where furious opposition leaders demanded the prime minister's statement. The house had to be adjourned following repeated disruptions.
The UPA government opened up multi-brand retail to FDI in September as part of his move to kick-start economic reforms. However, the move angered the government's key ally, the Trinamool Congress, which walked out in a huff. But thanks to the support of the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Congress-led UPA has managed to survive the crisis.
The BJP and the CPI(M), which had last week voted in both houses of Parliament for a resolution seeking the withdrawal of the UPA government's notification allowing FDI in multi-brand retailing, launched a scathing attack on the treasury benches.
For the UPA government, Walmart's disclosure in the US senate about its having spent $25 million in lobbying in different parts of the world came as a major embarrassment days after it had managed to get both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha to reject the opposition motion against FDI.
BJP leaders demanded that Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should make a statement in Parliament on the issue of lobbying by the American retailer. ''We demand that the Prime Minister should come to the House and make a statement on the issue,'' said Venkaiah Naidu of the BJP. ''It should also be followed up with an independent inquiry.''
Sitaram Yechury of the CPI (M) also demanded a probe into the disclosure by Walmart. ''We are not saying who has taken money or not,'' said Yechury. ''What we are saying is that Walmart itself is saying that it has spent the money. There are cases of corruption in the court. So government should inquire into it.''
Ravi Shankar Prasad, the chief spokesperson of the BJP said that while lobbying was legal in the US, it was banned in India. The government will, therefore, have to investigate whether the company had lobbied for entry into the country over the last few years and who were the middlemen involved.
The Samajwadi Party, which provides outside support to the UPA government – and which had abstained in the voting on the resolution in both houses last week, helping the government win with a slender majority – also demanded a probe into the lobbying.
The Walmart disclosure had its impact in the Rajya Sabha, where furious opposition leaders demanded the prime minister's statement. The house had to be adjourned following repeated disruptions.
The UPA government opened up multi-brand retail to FDI in September as part of his move to kick-start economic reforms. However, the move angered the government's key ally, the Trinamool Congress, which walked out in a huff. But thanks to the support of the SP and the Bahujan Samaj Party, the Congress-led UPA has managed to survive the crisis.
