NEW DELHI: The UPA government on Wednesday comfortably won the vote in the Lok Sabha on foreign investment in multi-brand retail. The motion opposing the decision was moved by the BJP and the CPM.

The UPA government won by a margin of 253 votes to 218 votes on Wednesday evening after a debate lasting two days.

Out of the 543 Lok Sabha members, 471 voted.

Samajwadi Party's 21 MPs and Bahujan Samaj Party's 22 MPs abstained from the voting process.

The voting took place under Rule 184 of the Rules of Business of the Lok Sabha.

Trinamool Congress MP Sougata Roy's amendment's on Fema was also defeated in the Lok Sabha.

Earlier, the issue of FDI in retail was furiously debated in the Lok Sabha on Wednesday with the opposition lashing out at the move as the government appealed to all parties to vote in its favour.

Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, Sushma Swaraj, alleged that SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav walked out of the upper house ahead of voting on FDI in retail because of CBI pressure.

"I wanted that everyone should have walked their talked ... how vociferously Mulayam ji had opposed FDI...if he had voted with us, FDI would not have been implemented. It is not a question of BJP, this is not a communal issue... but the problem is the issue has now become FDI vs CBI," said Swaraj.

The BSP too has CBI cases against it such as the one involving the Taj Corridor Scam case.

"When BSP wants support, they come to us, and then, we aren't communal... this dichotomy won't work," she added.