FDI in Retail Policy is expected to be presented in both the houses of Parliament. UPA government’s decision to seek vote only in LS was opposed by the opposition leaders.
UPA government is confident of its overwhelming majority in the lower house- Lok Sabha. However the ruling coalition seems nervous over gaining an upper hand in Rajya Sabha on FDI in Retail Policy.
The UPA government’s decision to allow more Foreign Direct Investment– FDI in retail is not welcomed unanimously. The politicians seem divided on the FDI issue. Some say that it will boost real estate sector. Some argues that this will reduce the chance for Indian investors. West Bengal’s BSP govt. and Tamil Nadu’s AIADMK govt. are those who severely oppose FDI in retail.
Congress led UPA government’s talks with the opposition parties remained futile as it did not generate the expected result. The opposition parties stood stubborn on their decision to go for a vote in both Houses. They turned down the parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath’s proposal to go for vote in the lower house alone.
Kamal Nath proposed the idea of avoiding upper house vote. His proposal was made out of his sheer confidence on the UPA numbers in the lower house. The opposition leaders of both Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha – Sushma Swaraj and Arun Jaitley respectively, showed higher resistance to this proposal.
Meanwhile BJP leaders were supported by other groups like AGP, BJD, AIADMK, Left and TDP. Their support backed the BJP leaders to stich on to their demands. As a result the UPA government is doomed to face the undesirable fate.
Many congress supporters were of the opinion that the vote in the lower house alone should be made significant. For them the Lower House – Lok Sabha is more crucial than the Upper house- Rajya Sabha. Anyhow there is no point in viewing either of the houses as menial as both the houses are equally important and prominent in all aspects.
The vote will be first opened for discussion in the Lower house. There is a possibility that the UPA government may be given one week’s time for presenting its FDI in retail policy for vote in the Upper House. The UPA government can succeed in this vote if they could persuade the distracted BSP and SP to support them in Rajya Sabha. UPA government will become successful if they support the Congress-led ally in the upper house.
