<p>The government Tuesday clarified that the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. has "not been availing the services of the lobbying firm Patton Bogs for more than a year".<br /><br /></p>.<p>The external affairs ministry's statement follows uproar in parliament following reports that Wal-Mart had spent Rs.125 crore in the last four years to lobby with US lawmakers, and Indian MPs alleged that the firm had indulged in corruption to enter India.<br /><br />Patton Boggs, one of the lobbying firms which represented Wal-Mart, had been hired by the Indian embassy in the US in 2008 to help clinch the India-US nuclear deal.<br /><br />Opposition parties opposed to the entry of foreign retail giants in India allege Wal-Mart has used lobbying firms to push for India to go in for FDI in multi-brand retail.<br /><br />To a question whether the Indian government had taken up the issue of the lobbying and bribing by Wal-Mart with the US government, the spokesperson said he was not aware if India has formally taken it up with the US government. <br /><br />"And I do not know whether there has been any assurance provided on those grounds at all," he said.<br /></p>
<p>The government Tuesday clarified that the Indian embassy in Washington D.C. has "not been availing the services of the lobbying firm Patton Bogs for more than a year".<br /><br /></p>.<p>The external affairs ministry's statement follows uproar in parliament following reports that Wal-Mart had spent Rs.125 crore in the last four years to lobby with US lawmakers, and Indian MPs alleged that the firm had indulged in corruption to enter India.<br /><br />Patton Boggs, one of the lobbying firms which represented Wal-Mart, had been hired by the Indian embassy in the US in 2008 to help clinch the India-US nuclear deal.<br /><br />Opposition parties opposed to the entry of foreign retail giants in India allege Wal-Mart has used lobbying firms to push for India to go in for FDI in multi-brand retail.<br /><br />To a question whether the Indian government had taken up the issue of the lobbying and bribing by Wal-Mart with the US government, the spokesperson said he was not aware if India has formally taken it up with the US government. <br /><br />"And I do not know whether there has been any assurance provided on those grounds at all," he said.<br /></p>