McDonald's has rubbished the Sushma Swaraj's claim, saying "they import only on rare occasions when local supplies run out".

"Before setting up its business in India, McDonald''s had made a commitment to Government on local sourcing of its entire raw material requirement. We confidently and proudly state that ingredients used in our products are sourced locally that includes the French Fries," said McDonald's India (North & East) Managing Director Vikram Bakshi in a statement.

"We, along with our supplier, McCain, have worked closely with farmers in India to produce process-grade potato varieties. We continue to contribute in the growth of these farmers. McDonald''s remains steadfast to its commitment of working with local suppliers and farmers to source all its requirements in India," he added.

Swaraj also pointed out yesterday that US-based retail giant Walmart needs 36,000 stores to create 40 lakh jobs "Government says that FDI will generate employment for 40 lakh people. But going by figures if we have to employ so many people, then all companies like Wal-Mart, Tesco and others coming to India need to open over 36,000 stores in 53 cities, which means over 600 stores in each city," she said.

Swaraj said that all around the world, large supermarkets tend to keep high profits while giving low prices to farmers and low wages to workers. The senior BJP leader at the end of her debate urged the government to rollback its decision of permitting FDI in multi-brand retail. "Hum aapko harakar jeet darj nahi karna chahte hain, manakar jeet darj karana chahte hain," she said