Foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail
cleared the final hurdle on Friday when it got the approval of the Rajya Sabha which voted against the motion to withdraw it.
123 members voted against the motion while 109 voted in favour after a two-day animated debate during which the Opposition attacked the proposal to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, while the government strongly justified it saying it was in the best interest of the country.
Samajwadi Party, which has nine members in the House, staged a walkout expressing dissatisfaction over Commerce Minister Anand Sharma's reply.
As the Samajwadi Party staged a walk-out, UPA government required less number of votes for defeating the motion. In much relief to the government,
Bahujan Samaj Party on Thursday
promised to vote in favour of FDI in Rajya Sabha.
The FDI in multi-brand retail had already got an approval from the Lok Sabha on Wednesday after the government won the vote in its favour.
The animated debate on FDI in Rajya Sabha on Friday saw clashes between government and the Opposition, which accused Commerce Minister Anand Sharma of misleading the House and demanded an apology.
The uproar led to abrupt adjournment of the House for over an hour while the Minister was speaking on the motion moved against bringing FDI in retail sector.
Trouble started when Sharma read out excerpts of a Planning Commission report citing recommendations of a Committee headed by N K Singh during the NDA regime in 2002, suggesting up to 100 per cent FDI in retail be brought in as it will benefit both consumers and farmers.
Singh, now a JD-U member, rose to counter Sharma's contention, who refused to yield to him. As the Chair did not allow the JD-U member to speak, the entire opposition, including members from Left, TMC and NDA, were on their feet demanding that they wanted to hear Singh's version.
Targeting the Commerce Minister, Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley said, "The Minister has said that N K Singh in his capacity as Chairman of the Committee has supported FDI in multi-brand retail. He cannot play up one paragraph. You are reading the preamble and not the conclusion...please allow him (Singh) to speak."
The entire Opposition also supported Singh who said what the Minister read out was not the conclusion of the report and that Sharma had misled the House for which the government should apologise.
This saw Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) members raise slogans, "Anand Sharma maafi maango...Bharat Sarkar maafi maango...Anand Sharma has misled the House".
As the din continued despite his repeated persuasion, Deputy Chairman P J Kurien adjourned the House till 2.30 pm.
Replying to the debate, Sharma earlier rejected the opposition contention that FDI in multi-brand retail will render small traders unemployed and damage the interests of farmers.
Sharma claimed that 11 states and major farmer and trader organisations had favoured allowing FDI in retail and claimed he had held discussions with various states before taking the decision to allow FDI.
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