Nimtauri (WB): Taking her battle against FDI in multi-brand retail to rural Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday told farmers and small traders that allowing foreign retail companies in the state would rob them of their land and businesses. Asking them to resist entry of foreign retailers, she said, "FDI in retail would bring disaster to farmers and small traders who would stand to lose their land in the long run as well as their businesses and livelihood". "Loot chalche loot, jhoot chalche jhoot" (In the name of reforms, loot is going on and falsehood is being spread), she said adding all should unite to safeguard the interests of poor farmers and retailers.
She wondered whether reforms meant pointing guns at farmers and that there would be no shopkeepers in the localities. "They (Centre) have no ability to give employment to the people, but are trying to rob them of their livelihood."
Pointing at the villagers assembled here in East Midnapore district, she said, "Do you know what the FDI in retail means? How the small traders and the farmers would survive if their work go? Farmers plough the fields and sell their produce at the markets. Now they are saying that these would be given to Walmart. I have got nothing personal against Walmart. But in America Walmart has been told that if it has to do business in America, it will have to buy sixty per cent of American goods," she said.
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