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| Congress, SP, BSP, DMK mortally afraid of BJP | | Parliamentary debate on FDI | | Rustam
Jammu, Dec 8: The Congress-led UPA Government at the centre defeated both the motions moved by the principle opposition party BJP in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha against its decision on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail trade. The Lok Sabha defeated the motion on December 5 and the Rajya Sabha yesterday after a heated discussion. In the Lok Sabha the government secured 253 votes, 19 less than the simple majority (272), and the opposition got 218 votes. In the Rajya Sabha the government secured 123 votes, one more than the simple majority (122) and the opposition secured 110 votes.
The government did defeat the opposition and the motions it moved, but it lost its face and credibility in the process. Not just the Congress, the NCP of Sharad Pawar, the SP of Mulayam Singh Yadav, the BSP of Mayawati and DMK of M Karunanidhi also lost their faces. The SP and the DMK had joined the Bharat Bandh call for which was given by the BJP and the Left parties to register their protest against what they had called anti-people and anti-national decision. The SP chief had even courted arrest, along with Left leaders. Karunanidhi and Yadav had announced that they will not support the decision come what may. Their parties also opposed the decision both in the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. But all the SP MPs walked out of the Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha to ensure the victory of the otherwise minority government. Had they voted for the opposition's motions, the government would have been defeated on the floor of the Lok Sabha. The DMK, on the other hand, voted for the government, thus blackening their faces beyond recognition. Those who spoke on behalf these parties said that they did what to ensure that the "communal forces" (read BJP) do not succeed in capturing power.
Mayawati had opposed the decision but not joined the Bharat bandh. Her party opposed the decision in the Lok Sabha and all the BSP MPs walked out before the voting time. In the Rajya Sabha the BSP took a complete U-turn and all the 15 MPs voted for the government saying they support the government decision. Had the BSP MPs also walked out, like the 9 SP MPs, the government would have been defeated on the floor of the Rajya Sabha. In other words, the SP and the BSP saved the government in the Lok Sabha by staging a walkout. The SP and the BSP saved the government by staging a walkout out and voting for the government, respectively. The Indian Parliament had never witnessed such naked political debauchery. It was clear that an unholy game of give and take had been played.
The NCP had all along supported the decision. But just on the eve of debate on FDI, its local leadership in Maharashtra questioned the decision. Political observers say that the NCP blackmailed the Congress to get back the post of Deputy Chief Minister. Shard Pawar's nephew had resigned from the post some 70 days ago on the ground that there were serious charges of corruption against him. In fact, the Chief Minister (Congressman) had created a situation which had forced him to resign. Pawar's nephew was administered the oath of office yesterday just a couple of hours before the voting took place in the Rajya Sabha. It is obvious that there was some quid-pro-quo.
It was clear from the speeches of the SP, the BSP and the DMK leaders that they were mortally afraid of the BJP. Even Congress leaders and some Union Ministers, including the Parliamentary Affairs Minister, appealed to Members of Parliament to defeat communal forces by voting in favour of the government. They converted the economic issue into secularism vs communalism issue. The determined opposition comprising parties like the BJP, the JD(U), TMC, the CPI, the CPI-M, the TDP, the BJD, the Shiv Sena, the Akali Dal, the JD(S) and a few independent MPs displayed a remarkable unity and voted against the government. The Left mocked the SP, the BSP, the DMK and the Congress saying they were discussing an economic issue which was fraught with dangerous consequences and not communalism. The BJP described the government victory as immoral as well as victory of CBI over FDI. The BJP also said that it might have lost the number game but it has scored a moral victory.
The entire nation watched the ugly drama as enacted by the SP, the BSP, the DMK and the Congress. Indeed, these so-called secular parties have brought shame to the country and subverted the whole system and are willfully working for the promotion of financial interests of foreign countries like United States, France and China at the cost of the poor Indians. It appears that the American Wall-Mart has started taking over the Indian market like the British East India Company had started establishing its monopoly over the Indian market in 1600. |
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