Retail FDI wins vote in LS

The Government has finally got an approval of the Parliament on the decision to bring FDI in the multi-brand retail sector. The Lok Sabha also defeated a statutory motion moved by Trinamool Congress MP Saugata Roy to amend the Foreign Exchange Management Act.

UPA allies Nationalist Congress Party, Rashtriya Lok Dal and the Rashtriya Janata Dal supported the Government, while the DMK, SP and BSP leaders said they were against the Government’s move.

In a House of 545 members, the Government got the support of 253 MPs. The Opposition’s motion, moved by Sushma Swaraj and CPI(M) MP Khagen Das, got the support of 218 members. Four-hundred and seventy-one members participated in the voting.

The Government expects that the SP and the BSP will not vote in favour of the Opposition’s motion against FDI in multi-brand retail in the Rajya Sabha as well. The Rajya Sabha will start debating the issue on Thursday and the voting in the Upper House will take place on Friday.