Govt agrees to Anna Hazare’s demands on Lokpal Bill: Reports

NEW DELHI: Anna Hazare’s crusade against corruption is believed to have won the battle on Friday with the government relenting to the demands made by the veteran social activist, TV reports said. However, Hazare on Friday night announced that his fast has not ended and further added that he will take a final decision on Saturday. A three member team, Arvind Kejriwal, Kiran Bedi and Swami Agnivesh, had met the government representatives and it is believed that government has relented to Anna Hazare’s demands. According to reports, Pranab Mukherjee is likely to be the chairman and Shanti Bhushan to be the co-chairman of the proposed joint committee to draft an effective Lokpal Bill. The draft of the Lokpal Bill will reportedly be formally notified. Anna Hazare had demanded the appointment of a chairman and a co-chairman for the proposed joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill and rejected the government’s offer of setting up of the committee by a letter of the law ministry. He also said there should be no “tainted” ministers in the joint committee comprising civil society members and ministers. The government had sent a draft on Friday afternoon, following which Hazare sent his draft. “We replied to it and spoke to the three ministers (Union HRD minister Kapil Sibal, law minister Veerappa Moily and minority affairs minister Salman Khurshid) about it,” Swami Agnivesh, one of Hazare’s three emissaries had said. Earlier on Friday, the three emissaries held talks with the government on the proposed formation of a committee for drafting the Lokpal Bill.