After Munnar, Kerala govt trains its guns on Reliance

NO RED CARPET WELCOME FOR RELIANCE: The Kerala govt says that the corporate retailer 'will be stopped in its tracks.'

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Keywords: Left, Kerala

New Delhi/Kochi: After taking on the TATA's over the Munnar forestland issue, the VS Achuthanandan government in Kerala is now training its guns on Reliance Retail in the state. Interestingly, a CPI-M MLA inaugurated one of the three Reliance Fresh retail outlets in Kochi.

Though, Reliance has made a flying start in the state, it seems the LDF government is now making it clear that the corporate retailer is simply not welcome in Kerala.

"The public mood is against Reliance, so we will stop them in their tracks,” Food and Civil Supplies Minister, C Divakaran said.

The state government has now drafted a legislation on the lines of the Central Essential Commodities Act that will empower them to prevent or at least restrict the entry of further corporate retail outlets.

The government has also directed the local self-government institutions not to grant licenses to retail monopolies like Reliance and to cancel licenses already granted if the law permits.

Reliance Retail proposes to open 70 outlets across Kerala's 14 district centres and has already bought rental space for operations in the state capital.

Interestingly, in the other Left-ruled state of West Bengal, Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattcharjee has rolled out the red carpet to Mukesh Ambani's ambitious retail initiative, though coalition partners have expressed their reservations on the issue.

With the Opposition UDF supporting the Kerala government’s anti-Reliance stand, the legislation could soon become a reality. But the question is will the state government’s move turn the heat up on other political parties and governments that are sensitive to large format retail?

Also, in the midst of the Left versus retail tussle one should remember that the retail sector employs close to 21 million people and so the government should keep in mind the risk of loss of livelihood before taking any extreme step.