Retired judge to head Walmart probe

Bowing to opposition pressure, the government yesterday announced a time-bound inquiry by a retired judge into reports of lobbying by retail giant Walmart to gain entry into India. Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath made the announcement as soon as the Lok Sabha met for the day. "Government will appoint a retired judge to hold a time-bound inquiry into the media reports regarding Walmart," Nath said. The issue of retail giant Walmart lobbying in the US for access to Indian markets created storm in parliament during the past two days with parties demanding time-bound probe by a Joint Parliamentary Committee or a judicial panel to ascertain if bribe was paid here. UPA's outside supporters Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Samajwadi Party (SP), which last week bailed out the ruling coalition in FDI in retail matter, were among those demanding a thorough probe into reports that money was spent in India. Investigation demand The demand for JPC probe was made by BJP, JD(U), AIADMK, Trinamool Congress, RJD and CPI while SP sought a judicial inquiry as they contended that the country had been put to shame. They insisted that the probe should be time-bound. Walmart had, in its disclosures to the US Senate, said it had spent $25 million over four years for various lobbying activities, including for gaining access to Indian markets. Walmart has said there was nothing illegal about the practice and the US State Department also stated no laws had been broken. Yesterday, Walmart reiterated that allegations of improper conduct on its part were untrue. "The allegation that a routine US lobbying disclosure form reflects improper conduct on our part in India, is false. This disclosure has nothing to do with political or governmental contacts with India government officials," it said. US ambassador to India Nancy Powell also defended the retail giant, saying Walmart had incurred the lobbying expense in the United States and not in India. "What has happened is accusations that this money was bribery. What it is, is lobbying. In the US, those are two very separate things," Powell was quoted as saying in the Indian Express newspaper. Report Opposition, led by the Bhartiya Janata Party, has pounced on Walmart's disclosure report to stall parliamentary proceedings and embarrass Manmohan Singh's Congress-led government. Opposition parties assert that the arrival of chains such as Walmart or Britain's Tesco will drive millions of small independent shops out of business. Last week, the government won two key parliamentary votes for its policy to allow FDI in retail as part of its push to revive the faltering economy.