LS To Discuss Jan Lokpal Today After Manmohan Appeal; Hazare Wants 3 Sticking Points Adopted

PM Walks Extra Mile, Anna Unmoved

BJP Lends Support To Activist's Bill, Queers Govt Pitch

New Delhi: Hopes of a resolution to the Anna-government standoff flickered from time to time on Thursday but eventually it remained unclear when the Gandhian would call off his 10-day fast. The eyeballto-eyeball confrontation was continuing till midnight. 
    The Prime Minister first raised hopes by offering to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill, as drafted by Team Anna, for discussion in Parliament. But this was rebuffed by Anna Hazare who insisted on an assurance that the three sticking points of the bill—inclusion of lower bureaucracy in Lokpal, setting up Lokayuktas in all states, and bringing a citizens' charter for public services—be incorporated in the new bill after a debate. 
    The government found this assurance almost impossible to give as that would mean presuming Parliament's will. Late at night, it was learned that the government was preparing a written response to Anna's demand. At the time of writing, Team Anna sources said nothing had been received by it from the government. 
    They also said that Anna's aides had met the BJP leadership late at night, and removed some of the party's misgivings about the Jan Lokpal Bill. The BJP has decided to support the Jan Lokpal Bill after Anna's aides agreed that some provisions of the bill can be changed to address their misgivings. However, it is in agreement to bring the lower bureaucracy under Lokpal and enact a central law to set up Lokayuktas in states. This support from the BJP is likely to narrow the Congress's elbow room in dealing with Anna. 
    The offer to debate the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament was made in the morning by the PM in a speech marked for its conciliatory tone and, and was seen as a major concession to Team Anna which had said its bill must be debated by the entire House and not just the Standing Committee. 
PM'S OFFER 
    Parliament will introduce & discuss Jan Lokpal Bill. Record of debate will go to standing committee to frame an amended, stronger Lokpal Bill 
Standing committee will also study bills prepared by Aruna Roy and Jaiprakash Narayan's Loksatta 
ANNA'S COUNTER 
    Let Parliament first discuss 3 things – inclusion of lower bureaucracy in Lokpal's ambit, Lokayuktas in states and citizens' charter — and pass resolution for their adoption in amended Lokpal Bill 
DON'T CALL ME CORRUPT: PM 
    Ihave a public life in the service of this country for nearly 41 years. In these 41 years of my public life, 20 years in Parliament, I have tried to serve this country to the best of my ability... and therefore, while charges are levelled against me, it hurts. All I can say is that if any wrongdoing has been done by me, I invite the leader of the opposition to look at my property which I may have accumulated in the last 41 years, members of my family …I would accept the verdict of the leader of the 
    opposition if they find that I have used public office to amass wealth for myself or for any member of my family. In the course of seven years as Prime Minister, I may have made mistakes. Who is above making mistakes? To err is human but to accuse me of evil intentions, of conniving at corruption is a charge I firmly repudiate 
ACTION-PACKED DAY 
9.30am | Congress parliamentary party meets. Pranab Mukherjee tells party that parliamentary procedures can't be bypassed 
10.30am | Young MPs, including Jitin Prasada, Sachin Pilot, Sandeep Dikshit, Milind Deora meet Pranab Mukherjee 
12noon | PM speaks in LS, says he salutes Anna. Says different versions of the Lokpal Bill will be discussed in Parliament 
1pm | Manish Tewari 'regrets' Anna remarks 
2pm | PM meets Vilasrao Deshmukh 
3pm | Deshmukh meets Anna 
3.30pm | Team Anna core group meets. Anna later says he will break fast if Jan Lokpal Bill is discussed in Parliament. Won't leave Ramlila Maidan till legislation takes a firm shape 
5.30pm | PM meets senior ministers. Pranab meets Chidambaram, Sibal and Khurshid 
8.30pm | Pranab meets Khurshid, Sachin Pilot, Jitin Prasada, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Sandeep Dikshit, Pawan Kumar Bansal 
People's power at work: Army chief 
    Terming the present period as "interesting and turbulent", Indian Army Chief General V K Singh has said that the support the anti-corruption movement is getting is an indication of the power of democracy and of the people. "There is unrest in the country....It is not who is leading the movement but why it has come to this stage that's critical," he said. 
Tewari sorry, but Anna to sue him 
    Congress spokesperson Manish Tewari on Thursday regretted having accused Anna Hazare of corruption and malfeasance, saying "in the course of political cut and thrust, certain things are inadvertently said which cause pain". But according to wire agencies, Anna has decided to file a defamation case against him in Pune. P 14 
'Angry Anna' all the rage online 
    Anna's agitation has inspired a free online game. Named Angry Anna, it is an imitation of the popular game Angry Birds. First uploaded on Wednesday evening, the site received over 46,000 hits in the next 24 hours. In the game that has been developed in Gurgaon, Team Anna members play the part of the birds while the UPA ministers take the hit.P 14 
    TIMES VIEW 
    The credit for turning the fight against corruption into a national movement goes to Anna Hazare. The government would never have made the concessions it has made had it not been for him. Has the war been won? Far from it. But we believe Prime Minister Manmohan Singh walked an extra mile in Parliament on Thursday. Does Anna have reason to be sceptical? Yes. But he should also believe in second chances. Why not give Parliament time to consider the various Lokpal drafts—including Team Anna's and Aruna Roy's? One of the beauties of India is its democracy, imperfect as it may be. And one of the cornerstones of our democracy is the parliamentary process. It would be dangerous to try and short-circuit that process, or to hold it to ransom. We believe Anna should acknowledge the PM's gesture and call off his fast. He can resume his protest if he finds the government's response inadequate. Team Anna's tough stand puts govt in flap 
    As part of his outreach, PM Manmohan Singh on Thursday also appealed to Anna Hazare to call off his fast. The entire House endorsed it, with Speaker Meira Kumar rising to send out a strong request. However, expectations that the offer to discuss Team Anna's bill along with two other versions —one prepared by Aruna Roy's NCPRI and the other by Jaiprakash Narayan's Loksatta—under a motion that will refer all three proposals to the standing panel would ease tensions, collapsed. 
    An unrelenting Team Anna sought guarantees that Parliament would pass resolutions committing itself to embrace the group's positions on the three contentious issues. The tough position adopted by Team Anna that it cannot trust the government as it was previously "hoodwinked" by the Centre has again put the government in a bind. Giving the guarantees sought by Team Anna would be tantamount to virtually enacting the Jan Lokpal Bill as the Lokpal Act with the exception of its provision for the inclusion of higher judiciary in Lokpal's jurisdiction. It would also violate the cross-party consensus that Parliament alone was empowered to make laws. 
    The Congress leadership was racking its brains to come up with a resolution that would satisfy the fasting Hazare without compromising Parliament's privilege to be the sole lawmaker. By all indications, it was going to be a difficult task. The Hazare group was going ahead with its plan to mobilize more numbers on Saturday as part of its 'Chalo Dilli' plan. 
    The Congress has already begun exploring the feasibility of raising a team of negotiators that would include representatives of the BJP, the Left and other parties. The party thinks this can ease the pressure on the Congress. However, it was not clear whether the opposition was ready to perform the rescue act, given the high cost of appearing to be at odds with the anti-corruption upsurge.

Anna Sets Three Conditions On Tenth Day Of Fast