Congress looks to ways to avoid Lokpal vote

The Congress party, which seems to be short of the numbers to shepherd the Lokpal bill though the Rajya Sabha, is trying desperately to avoid voting on the bill in the upper house as the debate over the bill winds down in Parliament on Wednesday evening.

The Congress does not want to show publicly that its allies, principally the Trinamool Congress, are voting against the bill.

One of the possibilities being considered by the party's managers is to allow the amendments brought in by the opposition, the Trinamool included, passed by a voice vote and sending the amended bill to the Lok Sabha, without voting on it.

However, it is not known how the opposition and non-Congress parties will react to the move or whether the Congress can get away with it.