Against FDI but won't trouble govt: SP

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SME Times News Bureau | 05 Dec, 2012
As the UPA Wednesday continued talks with opposition parties to elicit their support to foreign investment in retail during the vote in the Lok Sabha, the Samajwadi Party (SP) said it was against the move but would not do anything to "trouble the government".

"We are in talks with opposition parties to persuade them to vote in favour of FDI in retail," Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Rajeev Shukla said. The Lok Sabha would Wednesday continue the debate on FDI before putting it to vote in the evening.

Some consolation came from the SP that props the ruling United Progressive Alliance from outside.

"Netaji (SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav) has already made his position clear on the issue - that he is against FDI. Today, after the reply of the government, the Samajwadi Party will decide what to do at the time of the voting. We will not do anything to trouble the government," SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav told a news channel.

Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari questioned the intent of the opposition.

If the opposition wanted to "persuade" the government to roll back FDI, Tewari asked, then why did it go for a debate under Rule 184, which entails voting, instead of Rule 193 that states how a member would submit in writing his request for a discussion on a matter of urgent public importance.