Deft management by the floor managers of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) led by the parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath ensured defeat of the Opposition- sponsored motion on the withdrawal of foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday. Following the division, the motion moved by Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj was negated by 224 to 254 votes.
The day was predictably saved for the UPA with the walk-out by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party(SP) members. The division of votes was preceded by an impassioned plea by commerce and industries minister Anand Sharma to defeat the motion and equally strong advocacy by the BJP leader Sushma Swaraj asking the government to withdraw FDI.
Defending the government’s decision on FDI, Anand Sharma said the decision was taken after consultations with all stakeholders and that the move would save farm output and generate employment in the country. ‘It is not an overnight decision. We have consulted all the states, political parties, consumer forums and farmers unions,’ said Sharma.
According to him, in all 17 consumer forums, 12 farmer unions and 11 state governments welcomed the move during the consultation. ‘We have established an enabling policy, whereby all the states have the right to accept or reject the foreign investment in multi-brand retail. But one state cannot take away the right of other state which wants FDI in retail,’ he stated.
On the other hand, Swaraj while speaking on her right to reply after the minister’s address, slammed the government on saying, ‘During this two day debate 14 parties have spoken against allowing FDI. The number of their MPs works out to 282, that means 10 more than the halfway mark.
Only four parties are for it – Congress, NCP, RJD and RLD. That works out to 224 in favour,’ she said.
‘However, when the voting happens, the votes will disappear; the numbers will disappear,’ she said, referring to the SP and the BSP, who spoke against FDI but walked out ahead of the voting. ‘We forced the debate under rule 184 as we want the future generations to know what was said in the house, and not go by the vote. Today’s discussion is on livelihood, the bread and butter of 20 crore people,’ she said. She added that allowing FDI would hurt Muslim traders equally. ‘The Sachar Committee has said FDI in retail will hurt Muslim traders.’
There was intermittent high drama which disrupted parliament in between, as the Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly after a verbal fight erupted between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and BJP members as the former called them ‘jamura’.
Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, opposing the government decision to implement FDI, said, ‘We will become slaves of the west. Our manufacturing sector will die. The decision would also severely hit small traders,’ she said. Offering their support to the government on the FDI issue, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) member Jayant Chowdhary said the move will not destroy small manufacturers and farmers. ‘FDI will not bring any revolution in the country. It will take some time before we see its positive effects and it is wrong to say it will destroy farmers and small manufacturers,’ said RLD MP.
The day was predictably saved for the UPA with the walk-out by the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) and the Samajwadi Party(SP) members. The division of votes was preceded by an impassioned plea by commerce and industries minister Anand Sharma to defeat the motion and equally strong advocacy by the BJP leader Sushma Swaraj asking the government to withdraw FDI.
Defending the government’s decision on FDI, Anand Sharma said the decision was taken after consultations with all stakeholders and that the move would save farm output and generate employment in the country. ‘It is not an overnight decision. We have consulted all the states, political parties, consumer forums and farmers unions,’ said Sharma.
According to him, in all 17 consumer forums, 12 farmer unions and 11 state governments welcomed the move during the consultation. ‘We have established an enabling policy, whereby all the states have the right to accept or reject the foreign investment in multi-brand retail. But one state cannot take away the right of other state which wants FDI in retail,’ he stated.
On the other hand, Swaraj while speaking on her right to reply after the minister’s address, slammed the government on saying, ‘During this two day debate 14 parties have spoken against allowing FDI. The number of their MPs works out to 282, that means 10 more than the halfway mark.
Only four parties are for it – Congress, NCP, RJD and RLD. That works out to 224 in favour,’ she said.
‘However, when the voting happens, the votes will disappear; the numbers will disappear,’ she said, referring to the SP and the BSP, who spoke against FDI but walked out ahead of the voting. ‘We forced the debate under rule 184 as we want the future generations to know what was said in the house, and not go by the vote. Today’s discussion is on livelihood, the bread and butter of 20 crore people,’ she said. She added that allowing FDI would hurt Muslim traders equally. ‘The Sachar Committee has said FDI in retail will hurt Muslim traders.’
There was intermittent high drama which disrupted parliament in between, as the Lok Sabha was adjourned briefly after a verbal fight erupted between Rashtriya Janata Dal (RLD) chief Lalu Prasad Yadav and BJP members as the former called them ‘jamura’.
Shriomani Akali Dal (SAD) MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal, opposing the government decision to implement FDI, said, ‘We will become slaves of the west. Our manufacturing sector will die. The decision would also severely hit small traders,’ she said. Offering their support to the government on the FDI issue, the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) member Jayant Chowdhary said the move will not destroy small manufacturers and farmers. ‘FDI will not bring any revolution in the country. It will take some time before we see its positive effects and it is wrong to say it will destroy farmers and small manufacturers,’ said RLD MP.