New Delhi: The UPA government managed an easy win in the Rajya Sabha when FDI in multi-brand retail came up for voting on Friday.

The government’s victory was scripted by Samajwadi Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party. While Mayawati chose to vote in favour of the UPA government, Mulayam Singh’s party MPs staged a walkout just minutes before voting.

Of the total of 212 MPs in the house, 123 casted their vote against the motion opposing FDI in multi-brand retail, while 109 voted in its favour.

The motion was earlier defeated in the Lok Sabha.

The government’s victory paves the way for foreign equity in multi-brand retail in the country, a move seen as a major step forward in Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s economic reforms process.

With this, global names like Carrefour, Tesco and Wal-Mart will set up stores in India.

Addressing the house during the debate, Commerce Minister Anand Sharma hit back at the opposition and said the government had been “talking to everyone, farmers, traders, consumers, states”.

The government also held inter ministerial consultations on the issue, heard the recommendations and then took the decision, he said.