Walmart lobbying charges: government to set up panel to investigate

New Delhi: The government on Thursday said it will set up a committee to look into the allegations that US retail giant Walmart indulged in lobbying activities in India to gain entry in the country's market. Corporate Affairs Minister Sachin Pilot said the government will set up a committee to look into the matter. "Minister of Parliamentary Affairs (Kamal Nath) has assured Parliament that he will set up a committee to look into the allegations (in the Walmart case) that have come in the media and we are working on that," Pilot told reporters after meeting senior executives from country's top firms.

As per the proposal, the government will set up one-man commission to be headed by a retired High Court Chief Justice or a judge. The move comes over a month after the proceedings of Parliament during the Winter Session were paralysed over the allegations that the US retail giant indulged in lobbying in New Delhi to gain entry into the Indian market.

According to the proposal of the Corporate Affairs Ministry, the Commission, to be set up under the Commission of Inquiry Act, 1951, will submit its report within three months of its constitution. The Terms of Reference include probe into "recent media reports regarding their lobbying activities" and "whether Walmart undertook any activity in India in contravention of any Indian law".

The government will set up one-man commission to be headed by a retired High Court Chief Justice or a judge.

Under the Commission of Inquiry Act, it is obligatory on part of the government to table the probe report as well as the action report in Parliament.

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