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"As far as regulation notification under Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) is concerned in terms of Sec 48 of FEMA, that notification has to placed on the floor of the House for 30 days to enable the members to see it, consider, think and submit modifications and disapproval amendments. It cannot be rushed through alongwith the main debate on the FDI issue. We oppose it and we will approach the Chair in this regard," BJP spokesperson Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters after a Parliamentary Party meeting here.
He said, "A whip has been issued to all party MPs of both Houses. The party has finetuned its strategy as far as opposition to the FDI is concerned. The debate in Lok Sabha will be started by Leader of the Opposition Sushma Swaraj and senior leader Murli Manohar Joshi will intervene tommorrow."
Prasad said in Rajya Sabha, the debate will be initiated by Leader of the Opposition Arun Jaitley and senior leader M Venkaiah Naidu will also intervene in the debate. The FEMA rules are key for operationalising the policy decision to open FDI in multi-brand retail.
Taking a dig at DMK for its stand on "communalism", Prasad said, "Some of the members during the Parliamentary Party meeting today raised a very fundamental issue of a stale debate on the bogey of communalism. There are many parties still in Parliament who were in the power with BJP at the Centre and states for many years. The bogey of communalism then vanishes and suddenly when a different interest becomes overpowering this bogey is raised."
He said DMK was in power with BJP under Atal Behari Vajpayee for close to six years. "Then it was not communalism at all when the country prospered so much. Therefore, the people of the country are seeing this game. Those who make phoney opposition to FDI will stand exposed before the people."
On Congress allegation that Gujarat has given undue benefit to a foreign company, he dismissed it as "baseless".
"That agreement with Geo Global was terminated by the Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation in August 2010 and, thereafter the corporation has been requesting through letters the Petroleum Ministry to make suitable amendments in the production-sharing contract. The Petroleum ministry is sitting over it. The exploration has not started yet and not even a single penny has been paid. Congress is blaming the Gujarat government for the inaction of the government of India," Prasad said.
