Walmart buys 77% stake in Flipkart; RSS wing terms it 'back-door entry'

Walmart CEO Doug McMillon and Flipkart Co-Founder and CEO Binny Bansal in Bengaluru, on Wednesday. Pic/PTI

RSS affiliate Swadeshi Jagran Manch (SJM) on Wednesday alleged that US retail giant Walmart was "circumventing" rules for a "back-door entry" into India with its $16 billion majority stake acquisition of Flipkart and sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi's intervention to safeguard "national interest".

The SJM's letter to the prime minister, asking him to ensure that interest of those at the bottom of the pyramid in retail and agriculture space are safeguarded, came on a day Walmart Inc acquired 77 per cent stake in Flipkart.

The SJM, which is the economic wing of the Sangh, claimed that Walmart is using e-commerce route to circumvent existing rules, which bar foreign companies in multi-brand retail and dubbed its acquisition of Flipkart a "back-door entry" into Indian market. "This will further eliminate the small and medium businesses, small shops, and opportunity to create more jobs," the SJM's co-convenor said in his letter.

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