The government on Wednesday formally announced it had put in abeyance the decision to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. This paved the way for Parliament to resume normal business after a nine-day logjam.
After presiding over an all-party meeting in the morning, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee announced in the Lok Sabha that the government had put on hold its FDI decision till all stakeholders were consulted. “The decision to permit 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail is suspended till a consensus is developed,” Mr Mukherjee told the Lok Sabha. He said the stakeholders included political parties and chief ministers without whose involvement this “cannot be implemented”. Commerce minister Anand Sharma read a similar statement in the Rajya Sabha.
Welcoming the decision, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said: “The government has bowed to the wishes of the people. (This) is not a defeat, it’s a victory of democracy. I salute Pranabda for taking the lead in resolving the crisis. I thank the Prime Minister too as this could not have come without his wish.”
The Trinamul Congress, a key UPA ally which opposed FDI in retail, also expressed satisfaction. “Our demand was to have a decision only after consultation,” said TMC floor leader Sudip Bandopahyay. The DMK, which too had opposed the FDI decision, expressed approval.
The Left parties, which have been demanding a total rollback of the FDI decision, claimed that the finance minister’s statement on suspension amounted to a “virtual rollback”, and said they had “no problem with that”.
The Congress Party, however, refused to agree with the Left’s interpretation of the government’s decision, and AICC spokesperson Manish Tewari said: “The government has just held back its decision. Though a timeframe cannot be given, it will be implemented after consulting all the stakeholders. Our view is that FDI in retail is in the national interest. At times in a coalition enough consultations are not that enough to finalise a policy decision.”
Signs that the issue was blowing over had emerged last Saturday when West Bengal chief minister and Trinamul supremo Mamata Banerjee had announced in Kolkata that Mr Mukherjee had conveyed to her that the Centre would put its decision on multi-brand FDI on hold.
As the two Houses resumed normal business on Wednesday, Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar disallowed the adjournment motions moved by several Opposition parties, including the BJP, Left and the BSP, on the FDI issue. But BSP members were dissatisfied as they sought a complete rollback of the decision, and then staged a walkout from the House.
The two Houses then took up Question Hour for the first time since the Winter Session began November 22. The LS discussed and voted the supplementary demands for grants for 2011-12, while in the RS a short duration discussion on price rise was taken up, which remain inconclusive for the day.