hat's politics, you might think. But a more serious allegation came from a communist leader, AB Bardhan, who suggested this week that the Congress party was trying to buy parliamentary votes for about three million pounds (six million dollars) each.
The accusation was angrily denied. It's a little rich, replied a Congress spokesman, coming from a party which has been financed from abroad for years. It's not about money, he said, it's about doing the right thing for the country.
Jail release
One thing is clear: every vote will count. And that's why six members of parliament have had to get special dispensation to attend the debate.
Why, many MPs seem to be calculating, support a government that could be doomed to defeat shortly afterwards?
Normally they're in jail, serving time for crimes ranging from extortion and kidnapping to murder.
The Indian constitution allows them out on bail to attend important parliamentary votes. But the sight of convicted murderers entering the parliamentary chamber won't be the most edifying of spectacles.
The most notorious of the six prisoners, Mohammad Shahabuddin, won his seat in Bihar at the last general election even though he was already in jail. His opponents say his political strength is based on fear
