Click to play videoNew Delhi: It’s been just 100 days of Mayawati rule in Uttar Pradesh and the BSP government has started showing its true colours.
Lashing out against Mukesh Ambani led Reliance Group, Mayawati government has ordered district authorities to shut down all retail outlets, including those of Reliance Fresh and Spencers, in the state.
Mayawati said that the Reliance outlets are “anti-farmer” and are inciting violence among small traders. The government is also ready to scrap its ‘new agricultural policy’.
"My party's government will not take any decision that goes against the farmers,” said UP Chief Minister Mayawati.
Reliance Fresh stores are actually giving a hard competition to the unorganized retail market. Vegetable vendors who till now were used to fixing prices on their own now have to bring down the prices of vegetables and fruits because the same are available at Reliance stores at a much lower price.
Quality of products and the high-quality service is another factor where the vegetable vendors and mandi distributors have lost out to Reliance.
The fruits available at the Reliance Fresh stores are best quality, one does not have to pick and choose, and the weighing is done electronically hence the customers get complete value for money.
People are increasingly switching over to the air-conditioned world-class outlets which give customer service, variety, convenience and quality all under one roof.
But to counter this competition, the local vendors and traders in Lucknow are using arsons and protests. Reliance Retail outlets in Lucknow and Varanasi were attacked and damaged by the local traders.
Chief Minister Mayawati has constituted a committee of secretaries to examine the feasibility of opening vegetable retail marts in the state.
What has come as an even a greater shock to the Mukesh Ambani led Reliance group, according to sources, is the news that the Mayawati government has also scrapped its new agricultural policy.
Under the new policy private companies such as Reliance could enter into a contract with local farmers and share the benefits of the produce.
Reliance has 271 outlets in the country, of which 12 are in Uttar Pradesh. Reliance was planning to open as many as 100 more outlets in Uttar Pradesh.
Meanwhile the Samajwadi Party MP who was involved in the attack on the two Reliance outlets on Wednesday says he will continue his agitation if the outlets are reopened.
“We will continue with our protests. All the traders are going to protest against Reliance outlets even if it means taking out rallies, demonstrations, blocking roads, firing bullets or any other extreme level of violence. We will protests,” said Banwari Lal Kanchal Samajwadi MP.
It’s too early to say whether the new agricultural policy would have benefited the farmers, but the scrapping of the new policy within three weeks of its announcement does not send a good signal to the private sector.
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