UPA is a lame duck govt: Arun Jaitley

Calling the UPA government "a lame duck", BJP leader Arun Jaitley on Thursday said it was dependent on other parties to muster numbers to win a vote on FDI in retail in the Lok Sabha and would have to pay a huge price for this.

"You can't touch the 272-mark in the Lok Sabha. The government cannot see 254 as a win. When you are 18 short of majority, you cannot run the government as you please. After that Lok Sabha figure, you are a lame duck government," Jaitley said during a debate in the Rajya Sabha on foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail.

He said the government was dependent on others and would have to pay a huge price for this.

"It is a costly support and every day, you will have to pay a price. And we will see how that support will affect the country's administration in the coming days," he said.

Jaitley said the BJP was not against FDI but the issue was about sectors where the country should allow foreign investment.

"Will some western countries set parameters of economic policies in India? We were never against FDI but in which sectors it should come has to be looked at cautiously. The country has to decide that on the basis of loss and profit from FDI in each sector," he said.