New Delhi, Dec 3 In a veiled attack on Samajwadi Party, CPI(M) today said the vote on FDI in retail could be defeated if all parties which had pledged support to UPA vote against the government, which appears to have “arranged” votes through “wholesale trading”. Addressing the ‘Convention Against FDI in Multi-Brand Retail Trade’, CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury launched an attack on Congress-led UPA saying the government was responsible for disruption in Parliament for five days by not accepting the demand for vote on FDI. “We had demanded a discussion entailing voting on FDI. For five days, the government did accept it. Government did not allow Parliament to function (by not allowing vote for five days) and it is responsible for this. “They accepted for a vote after five days. They needed five days for arranging votes. If parties like SP, TDP and JD(S), who were with us on streets to protest, also vote against FDI, the government will be defeated,” he said. Yechury said if SP or BSP, which are opposed to FDI, abstain or vote with government then it will win. Alleging that Congress knows how to “manage” votes citing JMM bribery case and cash for vote scam, he said, “The government is known for this. There is trading, may be wholesale trading. Congress has experience in this.” Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, JD-S leader H D Deve Gowda and Chandrababu Naidu of TDP had courted arrest along with Left leaders in protest against FDI in retail. Yechury said the government does not have majority in Rajya Sabha and it could lose the vote. He also took potshots at Trinamool Congress saying it is the party which brought no-confidence motion but later said they would not insist on voting on FDI at the all-party meeting. “Why do Trinamool do this? To help whom?” he asked. “The parties should honestly vote on this issue,” he said.

Rubbishing Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath’s assertion that the vote on FDI need to be won in only one House, Yechury said the Left parties won’t subscribe to it and added that it has to be won in both the Houses. On government’s plans to bring RBI amendments in FEMA to allow FDI in multi-brand retail, he said, “It should be voted separately. If the government is bringing it together, we will bring amendments later. “So, there will be more than one voting on the issue. We have time till next Budget session. We have to keep the momentum till then,” he said. Yechury also targeted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying, “He worships American capitalism as his local deity.” CPI National Secretary D Raja said the Left parties will oppose the “retrograde” steps adopted by the government. He wondered why the government is rigid on inviting FDI when a majority is against it.