New Delhi: Caught in a fix over Anna Hazare’s indefinite fast to press for a strong Lokpal Bill, a concerned Prime Minister on Tuesday reached out to the Gandhian to end fast with a promise that the Jan Lokpal Bill could be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee provided the Lok Sabha Speaker permits.
Writing a letter to Hazare, PM Manmohan Singh said the government was concerned about his health.
“The government will ask Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar and if rules permit, the Jan Lokpal Bill would be referred to the Standing Committee,” Singh told Hazare in his letter.
The Prime Minister said he shared the Gandhian’s concerns over corruption and that there was no difference between the government and him over the issue.
The Prime Minister's letter came at a time when an informal channel of communication has been opened between the government and Team Anna to end the impasse with the government representatives meting team members to find a solution to the impasse.
In a first direct contact between two sides, Government emissary and Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid met social activist and prominent member of the team, Arvind Kejriwal, at the residence of Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit and discussed how to go about the issue. Dixit was also present in the meeting.
The government has appointed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as its negotiator for talks with Team Anna.
“The government has appointed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as the negotiator on the issue. It is ready to discuss the issue with a three-member team of the civil society. Annaji will decide as to who will represent his team in the talks with govt,” Kejriwal said.
Kejriwal said in the meeting, the government expressed its readiness for a discussion on the issue.
“We can say it is just the beginning,” Kejriwal added.
Kejriwal and Prashant Bhusan are expected to meet Mukherjee shortly.
Coming out of the meeting, Khurshid told reporters, “The time is running out. The government wants a solution to the problem. Different contact points are being explored.”
“They are fighting for democracy. There are fighting for transparent governance. But we are trying to understand what they want,” he said.
“The government wants things to move forward. Stalemate on the issue can’t go on for long. We hope there will be a breakthrough soon,” the Union Minister said.
Amid talks between the government and Team Anna to find a common ground, Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Sri Sri Ravi Shankar, one of the negotiators between the government and Team Anna said, “Good progress has been made so far.”
Earlier in the day, the government held hectic consultations to find a way out of the logjam opening a political dialogue on the Lokpal issue. The Prime Minister held discussions with Mukherjee and senior ministers A K Antony and P Chidambaram.
Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee also held parallel talks with senior ministers, including Sharad Pawar and Vilasrao Deshmukh, both of whom are from Maharashtra, a state from where Hazare hails.