New Delhi, Dec 28 (IANS) Ahead of the debate on the Lokpal in the Rajya Sabha Thursday, the Congress expressed confidence of getting the landmark legislation approved in the upper house.
Congress spokesman Raashid Alvi said Wednesday that though the party did not have a majority in the Rajya Sabha, it was confident that the bill will be passed.
‘We are sure the Lokpal bill will be passed. It is a bill in the interest of the country. We and our allies will make all efforts to get the bill passed. I have confidence we will be successful,’ Alvi told IANS.
Congress sources said that party leaders were in touch with the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), the Samajwadi Party (SP) and the Rashtriya Janata Dal, who support the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from outside. The three parties together have 27 members in the Rajya Sabha.
They said if the three parties abstained during voting, the government will be in a position to get the bill passed.
The sources said that the SP and the BSP were unlikely to vote with the Congress due to upcoming assembly polls in Uttar Pradesh.
The sources said that party leaders were also in touch with its allies in the UPA, including the Trinamool Congress.
Besides its allies in the UPA, the Congress can also bank on support of nominated members and some of the independents and MPs from smaller parties who together number 19 members in the upper house.
The Congress has 71 members in the Rajya Sabha which has a strength of 243. The government needs a majority to get the bill passed.
The Congress has not ruled out the possibility of convening a joint session of parliament if the bill was not passed in the Rajya Sabha Thursday.
