Ahmedabad, Nov. 27 (ANI): Former Minister of State for External Affairs Shashi Tharoor on Sunday said that he favours Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the retail sector.
"When investment comes from abroad, many people get work, new constructions take place, new shops are created, consumers have to pay less. After carefully watching all this, our situation is slightly different; the shops have come up in China. You should ask that why FDI is not in India, but it is in different countries," he told mediapersons here.
The government had taken a Cabinet decision to allow 51 percent FDI in multi-brand retail and increased the FDI in single-brand to 100 percent.
Tharoor also touched on the issue of the Mullaperiyar Dam which has been a long running contentious matter between Tamil Nadu and Kerala, saying it was vital to ensure safety for the people for Kerala.
"The place where this dam has been constructed, tremors are occurring. These days, small tremors are occurring but 22 earthquakes have occurred this year. If a large tremor takes place, for instance, an earthquake measuring 6 on the Richter scale occurs, this dam will fall and 40 lakh peoples' lives will be in danger," said Tharoor.
"That's why we are saying that there is need to replace the dam. We do not want any conflict to happen. We are ready to provide Tamil Nadu with water but we also want to ensure safety for the people of Kerala," he added.
Commenting on the Jan Lokpal Bill, Tharoor said there was a strong need to combat corruption within the country.
"The consciousness which has been created by the Lokpal Bill of Anna Hazare to combat corruption is very good. But the solution, which he has demanded, we would like to see. The debates are going on in the committee. We only want to root out corruption from the country. We want to see whether corruption will be rooted out of this country through their Lokpal Bill," he said.
The Jan Lokpal Bill is seen as a weapon to root out corruption and nepotism from the government machinery and in public life.he proposed Bill envisages the setting up of a national anti-corruption watchdog to check financial mismanagement and corrupt practices that have deeply pervaded several democratic and civic institutions of India.
Veteran social activist Anna Hazare had staged an indefinite hunger strike against graft that he gave up on the 13th day on August 28 when the government agreed to deliberate the issues raised by him and his forum vis-?-vis the passage and enactment of the Lokpal Bill, a suggestion that has received unprecedented nationwide backing. (ANI)
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