Opposition suggested that after d debate send d Bill to a parliamentary committee for review and repair, brought back after a few mths 4reconsideratio

Lokpal war: Mamata doesn't bend on amendment, debate in Rajya Sabha soon(HOW JUSTIFIED IS THIS??...VT)

NDTV Correspondent, Updated: December 29, 2011 11:12 IST


New Delhi: The government has failed to coax Mamata Banerjee into supporting the Lokpal Bill in its current form. So this morning, when the anti-corruption Bill is debated in the Rajya Sabha, Ms Banerjee's party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC), will plough ahead with its amendment that asks for 14 pages of the Bill to be dropped on the grounds that they infringe upon the rights of states to form their own laws. This chunk of the Bill deals with how states should create Lokayuktas or anti-corruption agencies. Ms Banerjee's party will support the Lokpal Bill, but not this clause - on this part, they will vote against the government. "States' autonomy is the guiding principle," said Derek O'Brien who has given notice for the amendment on behalf of the Trinamool.

The Congress' senior most leaders including Sonia Gandhi are meeting now to decide whether the debate on the Lokpal Bill should be followed by a vote. The option is to send the bill to a parliamentary committee for repair and reconsideration. That would save the government the stinging slap of having an ally vote with the Opposition on crucial legislation.

Ms Banerjee's MPs will vote in favour of their amendment if it is accepted by the House - a huge embarrassment for the government, in which Ms Banerjee is a senior partner with representation in the union Cabinet. Ms Banerjee's MPs have reportedly also rejected the government's proposal to walk out of the Rajya Sabha before a vote takes place - that would amount to an abstention. A walkout would also bring down the overall strength of the Rajya Sabha, making it easier for the government to cross the half-way mark and push the Bill through. The government is in a minority in the Upper House, so the odds are stacked heavily against it. Ms Banerjee's opposition makes a bad situation considerably worse. Minister of State in the PM's Office V Narayanasamy said that Pranab Mukherjee has been talking through the morning to Ms Banerjee's MPs in Delhi. But a compromise remained out of reach.

The part of the Bill that Ms Banerjee has found fault with refers to the need for states to create anti-corruption agencies of Lokayuktas. These bodies are meant to be states' version of the new Lokpal - a national ombudsman with nine members who will investigate politicians and civil servants for corruption. After fierce objection from the BJP and Ms Banerjee's party in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday night, the government amended the language of the Bill on Lokayuktas. Mr Mukherjee has reassured Ms Banerjee's party that with the change that was introduced to the Bill in the Lok Sabha, states now have the option to create Lokayuktas. But Ms Banerjee's concerns have not been assuaged.

If her amendment, or any other moved by parties like the BJP, is accepted in the Upper House, the Bill will have to been sent back to the Lok Sabha. A joint session of Parliament may also become necessary. On behalf of the government, Mr Mukherjee, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Pawn Bansal and Mr Narayanasamy have been talking to Ms Banerjee's MPs in Delhi since last evening, without a breakthrough.

A simple majority in the 243-member Rajya Sabha is 121 ayes. Without the Trinamool's six, the UPA has 104 MPs. Its best calculation today is to bank on parties like the SP, RJD and BSP to do what they did in the Lok Sabha - not vote. If the Shiv Sena and possibly the Trinamool also abstain, it would bring the strength of the House down by 37 to 206. And the halfway mark to 103. The UPA's Bill would, in that case, scrape through by a whisker in a vote.

At a meeting last evening, sources say, Opposition leaders like Arun Jaitley from the BJP and Sitaram Yechury from the Left, offered the Congress an honourable exit. They said the government does not have the numbers to push through the lokpal Bill. The opposition suggested that after the debate in the Rajya Sabha, the government could skip a vote and agree to send the Bill to a parliamentary committee for review and repair. It could then be brought back after a few months for reconsideration.

The government has so far not blinked - at least on record. Mr Narayanasamy said this morning that the UPA has the numbers to get the Bill passed.


Read more at: http://www.ndtv.com/article/india/lokpal-war-mamata-doesnt-bend-on-amendment-debate-in-rajya-sabha-soon-161678&cp