07-16-2008, 10:09 AM
<b>Cong MPs in touch with us, says BJP</b><!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->With the<b> eight-member Akali Dal scotching speculation about the party abstaining from voting in view of the PM being a Sikh</b>, Leader of the Opposition LK Advani held consultations with the partyâs senior leaders on Tuesday.
BJP leader VK Malhotra claimed that <b>the government may not get more than 250 votes in support of the confidence motion</b>. The government needs 272 votes to prove a majority in the present House of 543.
Malhotra also sought a high-powered probe into the "money power and blackmail" used by the Congress for horsetrading in a bid to ensure victory. <b>He claimed MPs are being lured with ministerial berths and corporate houses are being promised benefits in the campaign to get through the trust vote</b>. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
BJP leader VK Malhotra claimed that <b>the government may not get more than 250 votes in support of the confidence motion</b>. The government needs 272 votes to prove a majority in the present House of 543.
Malhotra also sought a high-powered probe into the "money power and blackmail" used by the Congress for horsetrading in a bid to ensure victory. <b>He claimed MPs are being lured with ministerial berths and corporate houses are being promised benefits in the campaign to get through the trust vote</b>. <!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->