Saswat Panigrahi
Politics makes strange bedfellows. Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP and Mayawati-led BSP have bailed out the UPA Government in both Houses of the Parliament during the retail FDI vote.
Politics makes strange bedfellows. Mulayam Singh Yadav-led SP and Mayawati-led BSP have bailed out the UPA Government in both Houses of the Parliament during the retail FDI vote.
In Lok Sabha, of the 543 members, only 471 voted on the
Opposition motion against the Government’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in
multibrand retail. While 253 members voted against the FDI motion, 218 voted
for it. Ahead of the voting, both SP and BSP — which support the Government
from outside — walked out of the House, thus helping the UPA sail through the
FDI vote in the Lower House.
In the Upper House, of the 250 members, 232 voted on the
motion. While 109 members voted in favour, 123 voted against it. BSP stood by
the Government during the FDI vote while SP chose to walk out minutes before it
happened. The Government scraped through the FDI vote in Rajya Sabha, despite lacking
a majority of its own.
UPA-2’s decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multibrand
retail now has the Parliament’s stamp of approval, thanks to the SP and the
BSP. FDI policy, after becoming a law will pave ways for multinational
corporations like Walmart to colonise Indian economy. The country will have to
grapple with the ill effects of this dubious policy. I have no hesitation in
saying that FDI in multibrand retail will force us to deal with the equivalent
of another East India Company, which will directly affect the livelihood of
millions of farmers and small traders.
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