A day after Flipkart and retail giant Walmart inked a deal, a few activists of the RSS-affiliated Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SAJM) staged a protest on Thursday outside a five-star hotel. SJM activists protested when Walmart’s CEO hosted a select media roundtable after its $16-billion acquisition of home-grown retailer Flipkart.
The protesters from the economic wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh arrived at the hotel at 9 am and alleged that the US retail giant was “circumventing” rules for a “back-door entry” into India with the acquisition.
Around 28 protesters were detained and taken to Tughlak Road police station and were let off after a couple of hours, the police said.
SJM’s co-convenor Ashwani Mahajan said that there was a series of violations of law in allowing the deal to happen.
“This deal is unfortunate, but not surprising. Now the danger is knocking at our doors,” he said.
The SJM had also written a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking his intervention in the matter to safeguard “national interest”.
Walmart Inc on Wednesday announced acquisition of 77 per cent stake in Flipkart for about $16 billion (Rs 1.05 lakh crore) in the largest e-commerce deal which will give the US retailer access to the Indian online market that is estimated to grow to $200 billion within a decade.