Hazare fast: Signs of breakthrough?

New Delhi, Aug 25 (PTI) Signs of a breakthrough emerged
on Thursday night with the Indian government being open to a
discussion in Parliament on Friday about key elements of Jan
Lokpal (anti-corruption ombudsman) Bill, a step towards ending
the impasse with Anna Hazare.
Hazare set three conditions to break his ten-day fast
declaring publicly that all civil servants should be brought
under Lokpal, a Citizen Charter should be displayed at all
government offices and all states should have Lokayuktas.
The 74-year-old Hazare said that if Parliament considered
the Jan Lokpal bill and there was an agreement within the
House on these three conditions, he would break his fast.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh took the first step towards
breaking the ice when he made an open offer in Lok Sabha
(lower house of Parliament) that Parliament will consider the
Jan Lokpal Bill along with bills proposed by others, including
Aruna Roy and Dr Jayaprakash Narayan, and the record of the
discussion would be sent to the Standing Committee.
He also applauded the Gandhian for his ideals, saying "I
salute him. His life is much too precious and therefore, I
would urge Hazare to end his fast."
Leader of Opposition Sushma Swaraj supported Singh's
appeal after which an unanimous appeal was made from the Chair
by Speaker Meira Kumar.
On yet another day of hectic activities, the Prime
Minister followed up his offer by holding consultations with
his senior colleagues, including Pranab Mukherjee and A K
Antony, to consider the demands raised by Hazare. He also met
Home Minister P Chidambaram and Deshmukh separately.
The 74-year-old Gandhian made it clear to the Prime
Minister through his emissary and Union Minister Vilasrao
Deshmukh that he will consider ending the fast if Parliament
starts discussing on Friday morning and an "agreement" is
reached on three key issues.
Deshmukh, the first ranking political leader from
Congress who was roped in after last night's breakdown in
talks, met Hazare at Ramlila Maidan Wednesday afternoon when
the activist conveyed in writing to the Prime Minister his
demands.
Late in the night, Mukherjee, who is the Leader of Lok
Sabha, held discussions with senior colleagues, including
Parliamentary Affairs Minister P K Bansal, to work out the
wording of the resolution on which a discussion will take
place.
Though there was no official word on what the motion
would say and whether it would be under a rule which entails
voting, it is believed that it would be in the shape of a
document that will enlist the features of Jan Lokpal Bill
along with the elements of those prepared by other civil
society sections.
Notwithstanding some heated exchanges in the morning,
both sides settled down to work on how to carry forward the
dialogue so that a solution could be found and Hazare end his
fast.
Reacting to Parliament's appeal to end his fast, Anna
Hazare demanded that Parliament discuss from Friday three key
issues on Jan Lokpal and create an agreement, failing which he
will not end his fast.
"I have sent a message to the Prime Minister. If you want
to pass Jan Lokpal bill then start the discussion tomorrow
morning. I have three demands. If there is support (for them),
then I can consider ending the fast," he said.
In the morning, Mukherjee, the prime trouble-shooter for
the government, briefed Congress Parliamentary Party where he
said government's stress on respecting constitutional process
and Parliament's sovereignty has been twisted to make it
appear that it is against the anti-corruption bill.
Mukherjee said attempts are being made to take over the
legislature's business and when the government stressed on
respecting the constitutional process and the sovereignty of
Parliament, an impression was sought to be given that
government was opposing the measure.
On the other side, Hazare's key associate Arvind Kejriwal
accused Home Minister P Chidambaram and HRD Minister Kapil
Sibal of trying to nullifying the entire dialogue process and
said they have become victims of Congress' "internal
politics".
Stating that they were ready to hold talks in a "honest
and sincere manner", he alleged that Chidambaram and Sibal
were taking a strong stand forcing the government not to enter
into a compromise with them on the Lokpal Bill.