As SP, BSP walk out, govt wins FDI vote
as the number of meetings held at the official level with farmers’ organisations and others. Sharma maintained that the DIPP secretary also wrote to all state governments and finally 11 state governments out of 21 strongly supported allowing FDI in multi-brand retail, which caused the government to push the decision.
“I also individually met Mamata Banerjee thrice...I also went to Bhubaneswar and talked to Orissa Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik. And I also went to Punjab and sought the support of Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal,” he told the House adding that he respected their decision to oppose FDI in multi-brand retail. “In a federal structure, everyone has the right to decide. We are not imposing on any state. We are only making it an enabling law,” he said.
Contesting the victory of the government, Swaraj interpreted the debate as a clear indication that the “sense of the house” was against FDI in multi-brand retail. “After the vote, it is amply clear that the government is in a minority...But the government is ignoring the fact that it does not have majority. This is arrogance of power” she told reporters after the vote. “Though they won technically, they have lost morally.”
Earlier in the house, she said that of the 18 parties that participated in the debate, only four - Congress, NCP, RJD and RLD - spoke in favour while 14 parties were strongly opposed. “If you go by the numbers then these 14 parties represent 282 members, who were clearly against FDI in retail”
