FDI in retail not good for nation, says Mulayam Singh Yadav; PM changed his stand, says BJP

New Delhi: Mulayam Singh Yadav, who provides crucial external support to the UPA government, has told the Lok Sabha that he is opposed to Foreign Direct Investment in multi-brand retail as it will hurt the interests of Indian farmers. He was participating in a discussion on the government's major reform policy; the debate will be followed by a vote tomorrow and the government's floor managers are counting on Mr Yadav not to vote against it; they reckon he could abstain or walk out.

In his speech, Mr Yadav appealed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi, "There is Gandhi in your name...remember what he said...you are forgetting Swadeshi and getting in Videshi". He also took on the government's first speaker Kapil Sibal for saying that FDI would be introduced only in 53 cities that had a population over 10 lakhs. "If you are convinced that this policy will help the people, why introduce it only towns with population over 10 lakhs? It is because these big global supermarkets do not want to go to smaller towns where they won't be able to earn as much," Mr Yadav said to thumping from anti-FDI sections in the Lok Sabha.  

The BJP's Sushma Swaraj led that brigade today; the Leader of Opposition initiated the debate, slamming the government for what she said was a policy that would hurt small retailers and for not building political consensus despite promising to take along all parties on the major reform. (Read: FDI in retail is death knell for small industries, says Sushma Swaraj) She said, "farmers are forced to throw their potatoes away while McDonald's imports the potatoes it uses," and ended her fiery argument, replete with political jibes at the Congress and its top leadership, by saying, "we don't want to win by defeating you, we want to win by convincing you."

Mr Sibal, who is a senior minister at the Centre countered Mr Swaraj's accusations point by point, saying FDI would be introduced only in 18 states and state governments could choose whether or not to implement it. Accusing the opposition of exaggerating the evils of FDI, he said it had no right to force its opposition on chief ministers who wanted to implement FDI in retail. (Read: FDI in retail in favour of farmers, says Kapil Sibal)
 
Both speakers accused the other's party of changing their stand. While Ms Swaraj asked why "the PM's viewpoint on FDI had changed," Mr Sibal said, "In 2004, the BJP said in its vision document that it supported FDI in retail...Now that you are not in power, you have changed your stance."

Interrupted by angry interjections, they set the tone for a heated debate, one that has already seen Saugata Roy of the Trinamool Congress warn that big retailers, "will come as traders and end up as kings," as allusion to British rule in India. 

As Ms Swaraj ended her speech she turned to the BSP and Samajwadi Party benches in the Lok Sabha and made a direct appeal saying, "If the government does not take the decision back, then I appeal to my colleagues here, vote with us and defeat FDI. The government will not fall if they lose the vote."

The government, which has managed to convince all UPA partners, including the DMK, to stand by it in tomorrow's vote, has been kept guessing by the SP and BSP, which provide external support to it, on which way they will vote. Ms Swaraj was alluding to the fact that these parties, especially the SP, have spoken against FDI in retail outside Parliament, but have hinted that they might bail out the government to keep the BJP at bay. But while SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav was non-committal yesterday, his brother and party colleague Ram Gopal Yadav said before the debate today, "The Samajwadi Party is of the opinion that FDI is completely against the welfare of small traders", adding, "Voting with the BJP may not be a consideration. The Left is also against FDI but both parties' policies are poles apart." The government is said to be counting on the SP to abstain or walk out, either way not voting against it. 

The BSP, too, has played hard to get, with party chief Mayawati indicating that her vote on FDI is linked to the passing of a bill that provides reservation for scheduled castes and tribes in promotions for government jobs. The BSP reportedly wanted the quota bill to be passed first, and the government had duly listed it in the Rajya Sabha today. Only, the SP, which is opposed to the quota bill, did not let the Upper House function. The Rajya Sabha has been adjourned for the day. As it grapples with that knot, the Manmohan Singh government wore its confident face this morning with Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath saying, "The government is confident that the BJP's motion against FDI will be rejected in both Houses of Parliament." (Watch)
 
Mayawati's BSP could abstain or, if satisfied with the government's intention on the quota Bill, even vote in favour of it, the government's floor managers reckon. She said yesterday that keeping "communal forces" at bay was a priority, indicating that she would not vote on the same side as the BJP. "Without seeing the results, we cannot currently support the policy to introduce FDI in retail. We will decide about voting on the floor of the House as we don't want to stand by communal parties," Ms Mayawati said.

If the BSP and SP both abstain in the 545-seat Lok Sabha, the majority mark will come down from 273 to 251. The Congress and its UPA allies have 261 MPs. Anti-FDI MPs add up to 219. The motion will be put to vote in the Lok Sabha tomorrow. The Rajya Sabha will begin debating the issue on Thursday and will vote on Friday.

In the Rajya Sabha, the government is in a distinct minority and will need more active support from the SP and the BSP. The Upper House has a strength of 244. Along with its allies, the UPA has a strength of 94 members. The 10 nominated members may go ahead to vote with the government. Among the seven Independents, three or four may support the government. Still, the ruling coalition may have to persuade outside supporters BSP (15) and SP (9) to vote with the government. The government is said to be talking to smaller groups too in the Rajya Sabha to make up numbers.

The government has managed to consolidate the support of its UPA allies, including the DMK, ahead of the FDI vote, but some Congressmen from the Telangana region in Andhra Pradesh have chosen to send ominous signals hours before the crucial debate begins in the Lok Sabha. Nine Telangana MPs, including minister Jaipal Reddy, boycotted a meeting with Mr Kamal Nath this morning. The MPs have not made it clear yet if they plan to abstain during the vote; sources said they are upset that the Telangana issue is being overlooked. If they do abstain, they will be defying a Congress whip for all members to be present during the debate and vote. (Read: Nine Telangana MPs skip meeting with Kamal Nath)

The entire BJP-led NDA has closed ranks in opposing the FDI decision. "We will strongly oppose FDI in both houses. In Lok Sabha, the debate will be initiated by Sushma Swaraj and our senior leader MM Joshi will intervene. In Rajya Sabha, the debate will be initiated by Arun Jaitley and Mr Venkaiah Naidu will intervene," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad said after the party's parliamentary party meet today.

The Left parties, AIADMK, Biju Janata Dal (BJD), Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) and some other parties have also made their intent to vote against the government clear. Despite that, the Prime Minister reached out to the AIADMK yesterday and asked it to reconsider its opposition to the policy in national interest. The AIADMK rules Tamil Nadu with its chief J Jayalalithaa as Chief Minister.

The vote in both Houses is a symbolic one, but a loss could adrenalise the Opposition's demand for a rollback of the reform, and severely undermine the authority of the Prime Minister whose government shrank to a minority in September when key ally Mamata Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress exited the ruling coalition over the decision to allow 51% Foreign Direct Investment or FDI in retail. Other reforms opposed by the party included a decision to limit the supply of subsidised cooking gas to households.