Published on Thu, Feb 22, 2007 at 09:02 | Source : Moneycontrol.com
Updated at Fri, Feb 23, 2007 at 10:35
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Bharti-WalMart protest rally fizzles out
United you stand, divided you fall - that's what happened at what was meant to be a protest rally against WalMart's entry into India, reports CNBC-TV18.
United you stand, divided you fall - that's what happened at what was meant to be a protest rally against WalMart's entry into India, reports CNBC-TV18.
Mumbai's Azad Maidan was to house the Joint Action Committee, which included a bunch of retailers, trade unions, mom and pop store owners and kirana wallas who are opposing the Bharti WalMart deal.
But the place wore an empty look! The protest was called off - probably because each member of this task group had an agenda of his own.
"Imagine, this is the only country where WalMart says we won't use our name. Bharti will run the store and we will run the back-end operations of sourcing. This itself is a sham and bogus contract and it has to go," protests Vinod Shetty, Spokesperson, India FDI Watch.
Another protestor is opposing all large format stores. "Tomorrow, there will be six or seven players remaining. At that time, after closing many stores, you will find the pricing will not be the same as it is today," says Mahesh Kambli, CEO, Apna Bazar.
There is also a demand for a level playing field. "We have asked the government to allow us to form buying groups so that we can sell at lower prices too," says Ashok Vaykul, General Secretary, Mumbai Wholesalers Federation.
Infighting and the lack of a unified agenda led to a no-show. This maybe a good sign maybe for Michael Duke, Walmart's Vice Chairman who is expected to arrive in India on Wednesday night.
But the place wore an empty look! The protest was called off - probably because each member of this task group had an agenda of his own. 
