Team Anna, Govt talk but logjam persists
reported in Zee News
I Have seen in Television people getting into streets on night at this time and Kiran Bedi has said that the Govt has changed its reaction and the respect to the Jan Lokpalbill. Below is the report reported in Zee news.
New Delhi: Deadlock continued between the UPA government and Team Anna on Wednesday over the Lokpal issue after two rounds of meeting between the two sides failing to reach at a consensus.
The second round of meeting in the day was held at official residence of Finance Minister and government’s key negotiator on Lokpal issue Pranab Mukherjee.
The team Anna side was represented by a three member team consisting of Arvind Kejriwal, Prashant Bhushan and Kiran Bedi.
Apart from Mukherjee, Union Law Minister Salman Khurshid was also present in the meeting.
Coming out of the meeting Khurshid told reporters, “The talks are going on in a positive manner with a positive attitude. But, we are still working on the modalities.”
Khurshid said another round of talks will be held after 12 pm tomorrow.
“The context and priorities are the health of Anna Hazare. The government is indeed concerned”, he said.
However, Team Anna accused the government of hardening its stand.
"There is a huge differences between government’s stand since yesterday. Now we are back to the drafting stage. We have to start from the very beginning,” said Hazre’s close aide Kiran Bedi.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, a prominent member of team Anna said after the meeting that the sticking points on contentious issue remain.
“We stand at a situation where we are back to square one,” said Hazare’s close associate Arvind Kejriwal.
Earlier in the day, a meeting between government and Team Anna failed to reach at a consensus. The meeting was held at the residence of Law Minister Salman Khurseed. Yesterday Mukherjee held a three-hour-long meeting with Team Anna at his official residence.
Meanwhile, concerns over Hazare's health mounted after he refused doctors' advice to be put on an intravenous drip even though he has increased his intake of fluid.
The 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader has lost another 200 grams in the past 24 hours with his weight settling at 66.2 kg. He was 72 kg before he began his
fast on August 16. His blood pressure was recorded at 104/86 while blood sugar was 106 and pulse rate 82.
Amidst Hazare’s falling health on the ninth day of his indefinite fast, an all-party meeting called by the government on Wednesday passed a joint resolution urging the Gandhian to end his fast.
In a bid to end the stalemate over the issue, the government yesterday announced several concessions to the civil society by reportedly agreeing to bring the Prime Minister under the purview of Lokpal. Both sides also agreed to let the Parliament decide on the inclusion of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the office of the Central Vigilance Commissioner (CVC).
Government is of the view that some of the demands put forth by Hazare and his associates require a wider political consensus before a decision can be taken. Softening its stance further, Team Anna agreed to the judiciary being covered by a separate bill, provided that the Judicial Standards and Accountability Bill is tabled and passed concurrently with the Lokpal Bill in this session of Parliament.
