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Government wins FDI vote - SP, BSP help out
Wednesday December 05, 2012 07:53:28 PM,
IANS
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New Delhi:
The Manmohan Singh-led government saved itself some possible
embarrassment Wednesday when it comfortably won the vote in the
Lok Sabha on foreign investment in multi-brand retail that is seen
as important step in its reform process. It also won another
motion on amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA)
to facilitate its initiative.
Both the motions had been moved by the opposition. The first,
main, motion on the government's decision to allow 51 percent
foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail that would
allow global supermarket chains to set up shop in India was moved
by the BJP and the CPI-M. The second one opposing amendments to
FEMA was moved by the Trinamool Congress.
With the rival Uttar Pradesh parties, Samajwadi Party (SP) and the
Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), which prop the ruling UPA from outside,
strategically walking out of the house before the vote, the
government sailed through the challenges.
The halfway mark needed to win the votes was reduced with the SP's
22 MPs and the BSP's 21 abstaining. Propelled by the unlikely
Mulayam Singh Yadav-Mayawati combination, the government won the
FDI motion with a 35 vote margin -- 218 votes for the opposition
motion, 253 against in a house with 471 members.
The FEMA motion was won by 30 votes -- in a house with 478
members, the opposition got 224 votes and the government 254.
"We are very happy. We have the support of the house," said a
beaming Communications Minister Kapil Sibal while lauding the
country's "vibrant democracy".
A defeated Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj slammed
Mulayam Singh for walking out of the house and condemned the UPA's
"arrogance of power".
The SP, which had said earlier in the morning that it was against
FDI but would not do anything to "trouble the government", said
the move was "anti-farmer".
"Five crore (50 million) people in retail trade will be destroyed.
This decision has ignored the interests of 20 crore (200 million)
farmers and their families. The decision on FDI was taken under
pressure of foreign companies. This is the reason the party
boycotted it," Mulayam Singh said.
"This is not about helping or harming the government. The whole
party and MPs had decided to stage a walkout. This was decided by
the party and the SP will continue to oppose every wrong decision
of the government," he said
The decision to allow FDI in multi-brand retail is expected to
open the doors for major global names such as Wal-Mart, Carrefour
and Tesco.
The vote is expected in the Rajya Sabha, upper house, Friday where
the government does not have the numbers.
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