Cong scrambles for numbers to pass Lokpal in RS

New Delhi: It's going to be a battle for numbers in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday when the Lokpal Bill will be debated. For now it seems that allies like the TMC and regional parties like the RJD, Samajwadi Party and the BSP will play a crucial role.

The Congress leadership is cracking the whip on erring MPs who were absent from the Lok Sabha on Tuesday. It's also trying to look more confident after failing to provide constitutional status to the Lokpal Bill in the lower House.

"The BJP's real face has been exposed. We wanted to strengthen the Lokpal Bill but the BJP did not want it," said Sonia Gandhi.

The Government clearly is not willing to take any chances in the Rajya Sabha. That is why the introduction of the Bill was first delayed in the upper House and then postponed to buy some more time.

The BJP, led by Arun Jaitley, is likely to move a comprehensive list of amendments. The three important ones will seek to make the establishment of Lokauyktas in the states, as per the central law, optional.

The BJP also wants changes in the process of appointment of the Lokpal and more autonomy for the CBI.

The Left has similar demands, but is also seeking to bring corporates under the ambit of the law.

What could spell trouble for the Government are the amendments moved by its own ally, the Trinamool Congress, seeking to change clause 63 to 97 of the Bill dealing with setting up of the Loayuktas in states.

The effort from the NDA is to find a common cause and to see that at least on the issue of Lokayuktas, it gets the support of regional parties and UPA allies.

The numbers are delicately poised and the UPA's floor managers are trying to reach out to their allies and even parties with just one MP in the House. But much would depend on what Lalu Prasad, Mulayam Singh and Mayawati decide to do.

These three parties account for 27 crucial votes in the Upper House of Parliament as the Congress does not have majority on its own or with its allies in the UPA. The BSP, Samajwadi Party, RJD and Lok Janshakti Party could tip the scales as the first three had staged a walk-out in the Lok Sabha.

That leaves the Congress-led UPA with the option of support from other smaller parties and Independents in the Rajya Sabha.

In the 245-member House, the Congress (71) along with its allies DMK (seven), National Conference (two), Mizo National Front (one), Nationalist Congress Party (seven), Nagaland People's Front (one), Rashtriya Lok Dal (one), Bodoland People's Front (one) and Trinamool Congress (six) has the support of 97 MPs. The eight nominated members are likely to go with the Government giving the UPA a support of 105 MPs.

Independent and Others account for six votes, Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) one, LJP one, Sikkim Democratic Front (SDF) one. How these nine MPs will vote is still unclear. But if they along with the 27 MPs belonging to the BSP, Samajwadi Party and RJD abstain the strength of the Rajya Sabha comes down to 209 and the half way mark also comes down to 105.

The Opposition camp consists of 102 MPs belonging to the Bharatiya Janata Party (51 MPs), Communist Party of India (Marxist) (13), Communist Party of India (five), Biju Janata Dal (six), All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazagham (AIADMK) (five), Asom Gana Parishad (two), Forward Block (one), Janata Dal (United)JD (eight), Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) (three), Shiv Sena (SS) (four) and Telugu Desam Party (TDP) (four).

The Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) is in touch with the Shiv Sena, the Biju Janta Dal and the Asom Gana Parishad to finalise the strategy. The Left parties, too, are likely to oppose the Bill.

However, BJP leaders said they would review their position on Wednesday morning with the party still having strong reservation over the provision for quota for minorities in the Lokpal structure and control of Lokpal over CBI.

But the key is with the RJD, the SP and the BSP. The three parties had abstained from voting in the Lok Sabha and a similar decision in the upper House is the only way the Government can get the bill cleared.

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