New Delhi:
After a meeting with the Prime minister and Sonia Gandhi this morning, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee joined the long list of politicians appealing to Anna Hazare to end his fast-unto-death. Mr Hazare says he will remain on a hunger strike till the government agrees to introduce a new law that will serve as "an antibiotic" for corruption among politicians and bureaucrats.
So far, Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal has been responsible for the negotiations with Mr Hazare and other social activists like Arvind Kejriwal and Swami Agnivesh.
As lakhs across the country have pledged their support for Mr Hazare's India Against Corruption movement, the government has held two rounds of talks with the activists. A third round is scheduled for 6 this evening.
So far, the government has agreed to some of his demands: that a committee that drafts the new Jan Lokpal Bill (Citizen's Ombudsman Bill) will include representatives of civil society, and not just politicians. There are two points of difference that remain to be resolved: Mr Hazare wants legal status for the committee - that means the government has to issue a formal notification for it; Mr Hazare's supporters also want the Chairman of the Committee to be picked by them. Till yesterday, they wanted Mr Hazare as chairman; today, Mr Kejriwal said in a letter to the government, they have suggested retired judges Santosh Hegde or JS Verma as new options.