By IANS
Thiruvananthapuram : All markets and commercial establishments across Kerala remained closed Wednesday to protest the entry of retail giants into the state.
The shutdown was called by a joint action committee of traders, merchants and workers having support of both the ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF) and the opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) in the state.
The policy of the state government is to see that these retail giants are kept out of the state, Communist Party of India – Marxist (CPI-M) state secretary Pinnarayi Vijayan said at a mammoth gathering of traders in front of Raj Bhavan, the official residence of the Kerala Governor.
"The Left is of the firm view that not a single such unit – national or international – be allowed entry into Kerala," he said.
"We at the Left Democratic Front meeting have decided that the local self-governments should not give sanction to such units."
But CPI-M legislator and a former Kochi mayor Dinesh Moni had surprised everyone by opening a new retail store of Reliance last week in Kochi.
Deputy Mayor of Kochi C.K. Mani Shankar also had announced another retail outlet of the same company there. But on Wednesday, Shankar was in the forefront of a protest march in Kochi.
A few retail giants have already set shop in Kerala. The last major player to enter the market here was the Mumbai based Big Bazaar. Reliance will set up an outlet in the Kerala capital later this year.