India MPs due to vote on anti-corruption bill

India's upper house of parliament is due to debate and vote on a controversial anti-corruption bill in a final move to make it law. The Lokpal bill sets up an independent ombudsman with the power to prosecute politicians and civil servants.The lower house passed the bill on Tuesday after a near 10-hour debate involving speeches by about 40 MPs.Campaigner Anna Hazare has called the bill "useless" but has ended his fast.He has threatened instead to launch a campaign of civil disobedience that would fill the country's jails.Though the MPs passed the bill in the lower house, they defeated a separate bill giving constitutional status to the ombudsman, a key demand of the Congress party.Opposition parties have also criticised the Lokpal bill, despite the government agreeing to several changes.The bill is likely to be put to vote in the upper house on Thursday, where it needs to be passed in order to become law.Media reports say there is some uncertainty about whether the Congress-led ruling government will be able to muster up enough votes in the 243-member upper house. The ruling alliance has 94 members in the house and needs a simple majority of 122 MPs to ensure the passage of the bill.Correspondents say that the ruling party is banking on the support of independent candidates and nominated MPs. A number of MPs belonging to smaller regional parties are also expected to abstain from the vote."I hope the bill will be passed by the upper house. I sincerely hope that all those who may have divergent views with regard to the Lokpal bill would respect the verdict of our parliament," Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said.Separately, Mr Hazare and his supporters say that tougher measures are required in the bill if it is to prove effective at reducing the level of corruption in India.Mr Hazare's main complaint is that the bill proposes keeping India's top investigation agency, CBI, out of the purview of the ombudsman.In other words, the nine-member Lokpal committee - which will include the ombudsman - will not have its own investigative agency, a major demand of anti-corruption activists like Mr Hazare and many opposition parties.A recent survey said corruption in India had cost billions of dollars and threatened to derail growth.