On the seventh day of the fast, Anna Hazare said on Monday that he would negotiate with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) or Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan to break the logjam with the Union Government to the Lokpal Bill.
One of the news channel quoted him as saying that he would not negotiate with any other mediator, including Home Minister P Chidambaram or Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Kapil Sibal.
According to the channel, the 74 year-old activist added in an interview that negotiations could not take place with the non-government mediators.
Hazare said that Lokpal Bill negotiations cannot happen with non-government mediators and added that he can talk with the Prime Ministers Office or Rahul. He also addethat he was ready to talk with Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan.
Hazare's close aide Kiran Bedi said the activist wanted Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to send his representative to hold talks on a stringent legislation that will set up an independent and powerful anti-graft watchdog.
Bedi tweeted on the site Twitter as Anna is saying let the government come forward to discuss the Jan Lokpal Bill. Let the PM send his representatives. Any negotiations are just rumours.
The Prime Minister in Kolkata earlier this day said the government was ready for debate on the Lokpal Bill.
Hazare, 74, has been on fast since August 16 demanding a stronger Lokpal Bill in Parliament.
The anti-corruption campaigner also told the Marathi news channel that no official mediator has approached the him till now. He also said he would not approach anyone without the presence of his advisers.
Hazare reiterated his demand that the Lokpal Bill introduced by the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in Parliament should be withdrawn immediately as it is weak and cannot fight the corruption menace.
He also hinted at some flexibility on the issue of excluding judiciary under the ombudsman, and said this demand could be discussed during the proposed talks.
He, however, added that a proposed Judicial Accountability Bill must be strengthened if judiciary has to be kept out of the Lokpal's jurisdiction.
News Reported by AR for Newsvision - online news paper
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