Commerce and Industries minister Anand Sharma hit out at the BJP, stating that the debate on FDI in retail in the Rajya Sabha reached a new low. The minister was speaking to a TV channel. "If each govt decision is voted, India will become ungovernable," Sharma said, adding that never before was an executive decision debated and voted on in Parliament.

Wishing that the BJP was more honest, Sharma threw an open challenge at the main oppostion party: "I challenge BJP to bring a no-confidence motion tomorrow," Sharma told the channel.

The UPA government on Friday won the approval of Parliament to its controversial decision of allowing FDI in multi-brand retail with a motion against it being defeated convincingly in Rajya Sabha, as BSP voted in favour of UPA.

123 members voted against the motion while 109 voted in favour after a two-day animated debate during which the Opposition attacked the proposal to allow 51% FDI in multi-brand retail, while the government strongly justified it saying it was in the best interest of the country.

Samajwadi Party, which has nine members in the House, staged a walkout expressing dissatisfaction over commerce minister Anand Sharma's reply.

The defeat of the motion moved by AIADMK member V Maitreyan in the Rajya Sabha came two days after the Lok Sabha voted out a similar motion, paving the way for entry of global supermarkets like Walmart into the country.

The government's victory in Rajya Sabha, where UPA lacks a majority of its own, came with the help of 15-member BSP, which had walked out of the Lok Sabha during voting on the issue. UPA has 94 members in the Upper House which has an effective strength of 244.