FDI: Opposition awaits vote on FEMA amendment.

NEW DELHI: The government may have secured the numbers to get through a vote on FDI in multi-brand retail but the BJP and Left are banking on mandatory amendments to the Foreign Exchange Management Act needed to operationalise the policy to put up fresh hurdles.

The ongoing Parliament session has to approve the new regulations notified by Reserve Bank of India on October 30 to give effect to the decision to implement FDI in multi-brand retail trade, failing which foreign multi-nationals cannot set up shop in India.

Under Section 47 of FEMA, the RBI can amend rules to allow FDI in retail. "But Section 48 of FEMA says every rule and regulation made under this Act should be laid for consideration in each House of Parliament as soon as possible," CPM leader Sitaram Yechury said.

On Tuesday, he asked the Rajya Sabha chairman what "as soon as may be" means. "The convention is that they should be placed before the 15th sitting of the first session after the amendments are made. That means by December 13," Yechury said.

"So, legally, the government cannot prevent a vote on this issue. As lawmakers, we will legally take recourse to this," he added.

Yechury mentioned a PIL filed in the Supreme Court by lawyer Manohar Lal Sharma. While replying to a notice issued by the court in the PIL, attorney general G E Vahanvati had said the amended rules of FEMA (Transfer or Issue of Security by a Person Resident outside India) Regulations were published in the gazette on October 30.

"We though could not find the notification in Parliament's library or on its website," Yechury said.

Source : timesofindia.indiatimes.com