BackRSS affiliate SJM to oppose FDI in e-commerce, food processing
Swadeshi Jagran Manch has decided to pass a resolution against key economic reform measures of BJP-led govt at its national council meet
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New Delhi: Up in arms against the Modi government over some key economic decisions taken by it, an RSS-affiliate has decided to oppose foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce, food processing and marketing sectors.
A key affiliate of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) ideological mentor, the Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) has decided to pass a resolution against the key economic reform measures of the BJP-led government at its national council meeting slated later this month.
“We are against the government’s decision to allow FDI in e-commerce and the food processing and marketing sectors. We will urge the government to take back its decisions as these will go against the interests of small shopkeepers. We will pass a resolution against it at our National Council meet," SJM’s national co-convener Ashwani Mahajan said.
The Manch has held the view that FDI in e-commerce was coming in as an “illegal" way earlier and allowing it now amounts to rewarding those who had been flouting the rules and circumventing the law.
The Manch will meet in Bhopal for the annual meeting of its National Council on 21 an 22 May.
Mahajan said e-commerce companies have been adopting “predatory pricing" by allowing heavy discounting on products which are adversely affecting the small Indian shopkeepers.
“These companies are incurring huge losses by adopting predatory pricing of products and their sole purpose in doing so is to capture the huge Indian consumer market, that will render the traditional shopkeepers jobless," he said.
It is a reality that such transactions have made life easy and products come cheap, he said.
He said though e-commerce is not so prevalent in purchase of products of daily use, online buying is on the rise.
The SJM leader said there are nearly 2,000 small and big portals involved in e-commerce, though most transactions are limited to a few big ones.
Mahajan apprehended if e-commerce continues to grow at the present pace, it may reach 4% of GDP by the year 2020.
In 2009, total retail business of e-commerce companies was hardly ₹ 6,000 crore, which shot up to ₹ 78,000 crore in 2013.
The SJM leader said even chemists have been effected by it as some portals are also offering discounts on medicines in the Indian market.
The SJM has been frequently opposing government’s decisions.
It had earlier protested against field trial of genetically modified (GM) Mustard crop and the policy on intellectual property rights (IPRs), among other issues.
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