Chennai:
Over 400 members of the Federation of Tamil Nadu Merchants' Associations were detained on Tuesday for protesting with black flags in front of the US Consulate General in Chennai, police said.
They were protesting against the recent speech of US President Barack Obama on American firms' participation in the Indian retail business, AM Vikramaraja, state president of the Federation told PTI.
Traffic in the area was affected for few minutes.
In a recent interview to PTI, US President Obama had noted that India prohibited foreign investment in too many sectors such as retail. He also cited concerns over deteriorating investment climate to endorse another "wave" of economic reforms.