Click to Expand & PlayNew Delhi: On a night when Anna Hazare's health was declared worrying by doctors attending to the activist, the 74-year-old activist refused to end his fast, and talks between his aides and the government ended without a breakthrough over the anti-corruption Lokpal Bill. However, sources say, the government is keen on delivering a compromise tomorrow. (Read: Who is Anna Hazare?) | (Read: What is Jan Lokpal Bill?)
Anna, on the eighth day of his fast against corruption, refused to be hospitalised despite doctors warning that his blood pressure and vital signs are worrying. A few hours before this worrying medical bulletin was shared, the Prime Minister wrote to him. "Despite the differences between the Government and your team," the PM wrote, "I do not think that anybody is or should be in any doubt about the deep and abiding concern which I and our Government share about your health, arising from your continuing fast."
Anna addressed thousands today at his sit-in protest at Ramlila Maidan at 9 pm. "My conscience doesn't permit me to end my fast. Even if my kidney fails, won't one of you donate one to me? I will die for this country. If the government sends someone to forcibly move me to hospital, block the exits. But I am stressing, do not engage in any violence," a visibly weakened Anna explained.
There was no breakthrough reached at a meeting between three representatives of Team Anna, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Law Minister Salman Khurshid. Emerging from these talks at 10 pm, lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan said that the discussions were "constructive and fruitful" but that in the absence of any concrete proposals from the government, Anna is unlikely to relent and end his hunger strike later tonight. Team Anna says their version of the Lokpal Bill must be introduced and passed in this session of Parliament. "I wish these talks had started three days earlier," said Kiran Bedi, who is from Anna's core team.
Team Anna also rejected the Prime Minister's contention that the Jan Lokpal Bill could be referred to the Standing Committee. Mr Kejriwal said they made it clear to the government that Jan Lokpal Bill should be passed, without referring it to the Standing Committee, during the current session of Parliament, even if it means extending it by a few days. They demanded that the official Lokpal Bill should be withdrawn or allowed to lapse.
Mr Mukherjee said "Anna's health is very precious to us" and then headed to another meeting with the PM and other senior ministers. The government wants to finalise its strategy ahead of an all-party meeting tomorrow afternoon that will focus on both the Lokpal Bill and Anna's stand.
In his letter, Dr Manmohan Singh offered to have Anna's Bill placed before a Parliamentary Committee in charge of handling the Lokpal Bill. This committee - the Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Personnel - has so far been scrutinising the Government's version of the Bill. The activists led by Anna say that this draft is weak and provides too many outs to public servants accused of corruption.
The PM stressed, "As you are aware, the Lokpal Bill is now before a Standing Committee of Parliament. I have made it clear earlier and would like to restate that all options are open before the Standing Committee. Undoubtedly, they would be entitled to consider, in detail and clause by clause, subject to their discretion, not only the Bill introduced by us but the Jan Lokpal Bill and other versions like those prepared by Ms. Aruna Roy. Equally, I do maintain that they are fully entitled to make any changes to the Bill introduced by the Govt. and referred to them. In that view of the matter, the formal non introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill version by the government is irrelevant and would largely boil down to a semantic debate."
Team Anna has so far said it wants its Bill to be debated directly by Parliament; various close associates of Anna like Mr Bhushan have dismissed the Standing Committee's deliberations as "a delaying tactic."
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP who heads the Standing Committee, said on NDTV tonight that the demand by Team Anna to discuss and pass its Bill before this Parliament session ends on September 8 is impractical.
The government's newly-solicitous attitude towards Team Anna comes after it has sullenly watched thousands of people embrace Anna's war-cry against corruption. His camp in Delhi has drawn unprecedented crowds despite the alternately hot and rainy days that Delhi has traversed recently.
The Prime Minister met with Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi this evening to discuss the Anna crisis; simultaneously, the government's senior-most minister, Mr Mukherjee, was deputed to lead the talks with Anna's aides.
The Lokpal Bill provides for an independent agency that will examine charges of corruption against public servants. Team Anna says the government has deliberately drafted a weak Bill that will not effectively combat systematic venality. So they drafted their own version of the Bill. Two weeks ago, the government ignored Team Anna's Bill and introduced its own in Parliament. The activists declared war and delivered on their threat that Anna would start a fast and appeal to Indians to join his demonstration against corruption.
Among Anna's main objections to the government's draft of the Lokpal Bill is that it doesn't apply to the PM, senior judges or junior bureaucrats. While the government may agree to let the Bill apply to the Prime Minister, the activists say they could be persuaded to accept other pieces of legislation that would tackle corruption among senior judges and junior bureaucrats.
Anna, on the eighth day of his fast against corruption, refused to be hospitalised despite doctors warning that his blood pressure and vital signs are worrying. A few hours before this worrying medical bulletin was shared, the Prime Minister wrote to him. "Despite the differences between the Government and your team," the PM wrote, "I do not think that anybody is or should be in any doubt about the deep and abiding concern which I and our Government share about your health, arising from your continuing fast."
Anna addressed thousands today at his sit-in protest at Ramlila Maidan at 9 pm. "My conscience doesn't permit me to end my fast. Even if my kidney fails, won't one of you donate one to me? I will die for this country. If the government sends someone to forcibly move me to hospital, block the exits. But I am stressing, do not engage in any violence," a visibly weakened Anna explained.
There was no breakthrough reached at a meeting between three representatives of Team Anna, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Law Minister Salman Khurshid. Emerging from these talks at 10 pm, lawyer-activist Prashant Bhushan said that the discussions were "constructive and fruitful" but that in the absence of any concrete proposals from the government, Anna is unlikely to relent and end his hunger strike later tonight. Team Anna says their version of the Lokpal Bill must be introduced and passed in this session of Parliament. "I wish these talks had started three days earlier," said Kiran Bedi, who is from Anna's core team.
Team Anna also rejected the Prime Minister's contention that the Jan Lokpal Bill could be referred to the Standing Committee. Mr Kejriwal said they made it clear to the government that Jan Lokpal Bill should be passed, without referring it to the Standing Committee, during the current session of Parliament, even if it means extending it by a few days. They demanded that the official Lokpal Bill should be withdrawn or allowed to lapse.
Mr Mukherjee said "Anna's health is very precious to us" and then headed to another meeting with the PM and other senior ministers. The government wants to finalise its strategy ahead of an all-party meeting tomorrow afternoon that will focus on both the Lokpal Bill and Anna's stand.
In his letter, Dr Manmohan Singh offered to have Anna's Bill placed before a Parliamentary Committee in charge of handling the Lokpal Bill. This committee - the Standing Committee on Law, Justice and Personnel - has so far been scrutinising the Government's version of the Bill. The activists led by Anna say that this draft is weak and provides too many outs to public servants accused of corruption.
The PM stressed, "As you are aware, the Lokpal Bill is now before a Standing Committee of Parliament. I have made it clear earlier and would like to restate that all options are open before the Standing Committee. Undoubtedly, they would be entitled to consider, in detail and clause by clause, subject to their discretion, not only the Bill introduced by us but the Jan Lokpal Bill and other versions like those prepared by Ms. Aruna Roy. Equally, I do maintain that they are fully entitled to make any changes to the Bill introduced by the Govt. and referred to them. In that view of the matter, the formal non introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill version by the government is irrelevant and would largely boil down to a semantic debate."
Team Anna has so far said it wants its Bill to be debated directly by Parliament; various close associates of Anna like Mr Bhushan have dismissed the Standing Committee's deliberations as "a delaying tactic."
Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the Congress Rajya Sabha MP who heads the Standing Committee, said on NDTV tonight that the demand by Team Anna to discuss and pass its Bill before this Parliament session ends on September 8 is impractical.
The government's newly-solicitous attitude towards Team Anna comes after it has sullenly watched thousands of people embrace Anna's war-cry against corruption. His camp in Delhi has drawn unprecedented crowds despite the alternately hot and rainy days that Delhi has traversed recently.
The Prime Minister met with Congress General Secretary Rahul Gandhi this evening to discuss the Anna crisis; simultaneously, the government's senior-most minister, Mr Mukherjee, was deputed to lead the talks with Anna's aides.
The Lokpal Bill provides for an independent agency that will examine charges of corruption against public servants. Team Anna says the government has deliberately drafted a weak Bill that will not effectively combat systematic venality. So they drafted their own version of the Bill. Two weeks ago, the government ignored Team Anna's Bill and introduced its own in Parliament. The activists declared war and delivered on their threat that Anna would start a fast and appeal to Indians to join his demonstration against corruption.
Among Anna's main objections to the government's draft of the Lokpal Bill is that it doesn't apply to the PM, senior judges or junior bureaucrats. While the government may agree to let the Bill apply to the Prime Minister, the activists say they could be persuaded to accept other pieces of legislation that would tackle corruption among senior judges and junior bureaucrats.
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