JMM MP says voted as per conscience on FDI motion in Parliament

Medininagar: Jharkhand Mukti Morcha Lok Sabha member Kameshwar Baitha on Tuesday said he went by his 'conscience' while voting along with the United Progressive Alliance against the Opposition motion on foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail. "I voted as per my conscience. FDI is in the interest of the country and will open up job opportunities," Baitha, who is on bail on the charge of being a Maoist, said.

Claiming that he had rejected a phone call by party leader and Deputy Chief Minister Hemant Soren on the day of voting in Lok Sabha, Baitha said, "I have done the right thing in voting against the motion." Baitha had fought the 2009 general elections from jail from Palamau on a JMM ticket and won.

Baitha voted for the Congress-led UPA government while JMM supremo and MP Shibu Soren abstained on the ground of ill health. Sanjeev Kumar, the lone member of the JMM in the Rajya Sabha, had abstained when the motion was put to vote in the Upper House on December 7.

Kameshwar Baitha, who had voted for the UPA government in the Parliament, said FDI is in the interest of India.

JMM is an ally in the ruling BJP-led government in Jharkhand. It prompted BJP leader Yashwant Sinha on Sunday to term the JMM's move as surprising.

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