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Dec 02, 2012 at 08:28am IST

Govt confident on FDI vote but no assurances from SP, BSP: Kamal Nath

New Delhi: Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath says he is confident that the government will overcome the test of numbers in Parliament over FDI in retail next week. Despite no concrete assurances either from the SP or the BSP, he exuded this confidence while speaking to Karan Thapar on Devil's Advocate.

Below is an excerpt of the interview:

Karan Thapar: Have you got credible assurances from the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that they will abstain because publicly from their formal statements they have kept their cards very close to their chest?

Kamal Nath: I have got assurances from nobody because we are still talking to everybody.. making them understand.

Karan Thapar: When you say you've got no assurances, are you saying that you have no good reason to believe that they won't abstain?

Kamal Nath: I have a good reason to believe because I believe that they are a responsible party. They will understand the politics of it and they are not going to vote for the politics of the BJP.

Karan Thapar: In other words you are relying on what you consider to be their good sense and they don't want to ally with the BJP. You don't actually have an assurance they will abstain - you are just assuming it?

Kamal Nath: At this moment I have no assurance from anybody.

Karan Thapar: You are hoping that when they understand the politics as you see it they will vote wither with you or abstain they wont vote against FDI?

Kamal Nath: I can't say what will happen. All I can say is that I am confident, I am confident that we are going to carry it through in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

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