Govt confident to get Lokpal Bill passed in Rajya Sabha

The government on Wednesday night exuded confidence to get the Lokpal and Lokayukta Bill passed in the Rajya Sabha on Thursday, despite not having a clear majority.

Though the House has the strength of 243 members, the Congress strategists are working on the Samajwadi Party, Bahujan Samaj Party and Rashtriya Janata Dal to stage a walkout at the stage of voting as they did in the Lok Sabha. .

The first two have own compulsion to do so because of the February Assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh, they point out.

That will reduce the effective strength of the House to 216 since these three parties together have 27 members -- 18 of BSP, 5 of SP and 4 of RJD. The strategists claim the government's combined strength, including eight nominated members and five of the six independents, is 114, enough to get the Bill passed and all Opposition amendments defeated.

The government wanted the whistle-blowers' protection bill passed on Wednesday to have enough time for the Lokpal Bill, but the Opposition, particularly the Bharatiya Janata Party, did not agree and as such it goes for the toss to be taken up now only in the next session in February.

Eight hours are allotted for discussion on the Lokpal Bill that begins on Thursday at 11 AM and hence it will be passed only by 9 pm or so when the members would not agree to sit more and beyond the midnight for the whistle-blower bill that is not a priority in any case, the government sources said.

As regard fall of the Constitution amendment bill in the Lok Sabha Tuesday night that was to give the constitutional status to the Lokpal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal put blame on the BJP, saying, "We know that no constitution bill can be passed on our own majority in either House and hence we need support of other parties to carry through such Bills requiring voting by two-third of members present and half of the strength of the House.

And, still the government is toying with another trial of strength in the Rajya Sabha on the same constitution amendment bill as its defeat will give a handle to the Congress to point out that it is the BJP which does not want to make the Lokpal strong with the constitutional status.

In fact, Rahul Gandhi started attacking the BJP on this ground in his resumed campaign tour of Uttar Pradesh.