New Delhi, April 27: The much-hyped trial of strength for the government in the Lok Sabha today proved to be a dampener with the House defeating the cut motion on petroleum prices by a big margin exposing huge divisions in the Opposition.
The cut motion moved by CPI leader Gurudas Dasgupta on failure to formulate proper policies on petroleum products was defeated by a margin of 88 votes when it received the support of 201 votes with 289 voting against it in a House of 543.
The government breezed through the Opposition challenge helped by a walk out by the Samajwadi Party and RJD together accounting for 25, and 21 BSP members voting with treasury benches in what was initially seen as a possible close trial of strength for the UPA-II coalition.
–Agencies