Calcutta, Sept. 11: The Forward Bloc has turned its gun on shopping malls, threatening to attack them after Puja.

“If the government does not change laws to contain the mushrooming shopping mall culture and save the livelihood of lakhs of small traders and hawkers and others in traditional markets, we will hit the streets after the pujas. People will damage the malls,” Bloc veteran Asoke Ghosh told a rally today.

Ghosh said the government should make it mandatory for retail chains to obtain a licence from the state marketing board before selling farm produce. If that happens, outlets like Spencer’s in malls such as South City will have to approach the Bloc-run agriculture marketing board for licence to sell vegetables.