Mulayam against, other parties for Lokpal Bill today

This Parliament session expires on Friday, giving the government just four days to try and have the Lokpal Bill cleared by both houses of Parliament.

Senior BJP leader Arun Jaitley has given a notice seeking suspension of Question Hour today to pass the Lokpal Bill in Rajya Sabha.

Hamid Ansari, who is the Chairman of the Rajya Sabha, called a meeting of all party leaders yesterday to discuss the plans for today's debate. The Samajwadi Party or SP skipped the meeting.

The SP, which lends external support to the government, remains opposed to the bill and has threatened to disrupt the Rajya Sabha today to ensure the proposal is not discussed. (Read: Mulayam rejects Rahul's appeal for Lokpal Bill, but offers a favour in return)

After Monday's all-party meeting, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kamal Nath said the parties that attended have agreed to pass the bill in Rajya Sabha. "All parties will continue to persuade the Samajwadi Party to join in, in passing of the Bill and not to obstruct the functioning of the House," he said.

The Lokpal Bill creates a new independent agency empowered to investigate charges of graft among government servants.

Rahul Gandhi, Congress Vice-President, appealed publicly to all parties over the weekend to support the bill.

His party's initiative is being seen as a corollary of its humiliating defeat in the Delhi elections. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party or AAP made a stunning debut by vowing to fight corruption.

In his village of Ralegan Siddhi, Anna says he will not eat till parliament clears the Lokpal Bill. He has disagreed vehemently with Mr Kejriwal, his one-time protege, who has said the Lokpal Bill lacks teeth.

In December, 2011, the Bill was cleared by the Lok Sabha but was stalled in the Rajya Sabha. It was then sent to a parliamentary committee for review. The amended version will be introduced in the Rajya Sabha. That version must then be cleared by the Lok Sabha.