Retail FDI set to get Parliament nod today

Govt likely to win in Rajya Sabha too as BSP says will vote in favour of FDI

UPA-2’s big economic reform measure, foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail is all set to get Parliament nod today with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) indicating that it would vote along with the government in favour of FDI in multi-brand retail in the Rajya Sabha.

The upper house of Parliament is scheduled to vote on the motion later today.

The Samajwadi party said its nine MPs will abstain from voting today.

This means that there is no doubt that the government will win the vote. 

On Thursday, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath and his junior colleague Rajiv Shukla’s faces were wreathed in smiles as they and others on the treasury benches thumped the table vigorously to the sound of cheers in the Rajya Sabha when Mayawati ended her speech with the statement that BSP will oppose the opposition motion because "it did not want to be seen as siding with communal forces."

Mayawati minced no words about her doubts about FDI in retail. But all governments needed capital, she said, besides the government had to conduct other financial business as well.

BSP’s support means that the government has 125 members in the Rajya Sabha, who support FDI in multi-brand retail and 108 who do not with 9 abstentions.

Earlier, the motion opposing FDI in multi-brand retail was defeated in the Lok Sabha.