PM offers concessions to Anna as talks begin

Agencies/New Delhi

Anna Hazare is examined by doctors during his hunger strike in New Delhi yesterday

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh offered the first concessions yesterday in his high-stakes standoff with activist Anna Hazare, urging him to end an anti-graft fast that has triggered huge protests. In a letter to the 74-year-old campaigner whose hunger strike has boxed Singh’s government into a tight political corner, the prime minister proposed a series of compromises in their dispute over a new anti-corruption law. Hazare insists the government bill is toothless, and says he will continue his fast - now in its eighth day - unless parliament adopts and passes his own, more aggressive, version by August 30. In his letter, Singh stressed that parliament’s “supremacy” as the sole elected body with the mandate to determine legislation had to be respected. Nevertheless, “in view of my deep and abiding concern for your health,” Singh said he was willing to request that the speaker of parliament refer Hazare’s version of the bill to the committee that is reviewing the government’s draft. He also said the committee would be asked to fast-track its deliberations. “I do hope that you will consider my suggestions and end your fast to regain full health and vitality,” Singh said. The concessions marked a significant shift by the prime minister, who last week had condemned Hazare’s demands as “totally misconceived” and a threat to India’s parliamentary democracy. Singh’s written appeal came as his government instigated its first direct talks with Hazare’s aides in a bid to find a way out of the impasse. Yesterday evening, government mediator and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee opened talks with Hazare’s top key members - Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi. Mukherjee was assisted by Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit. Khurshid had held talks with Kejriwal earlier in the day, but the latter said there was no progress. Determined to break the deadlock, the Congress pulled out all stops to end the row and appealed for “flexibility and restraint” from all stakeholders. The United Progressive Alliance government called an all-party meeting today to break the logjam. Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi met the prime minister amid intensified efforts to find common ground on the contentious Lokpal bill.“Our government is prepared to request (Lok Sabha) Speaker (Meira Kumar) to formally refer the Jan Lokpal Bill to the standing committee for their holistic consideration along with everything else,” Singh wrote in his letter to Hazare.There was no immediate response to Singh’s letter from Hazare, whose aides said they were increasingly concerned about the aged activist’s health. “Every hour is crucial now,” said close aide Bedi. “We are worried that his health might suffer.” Hazare, whose vital signs are constantly monitored by a large team of doctors, has lost 5.6kg. However, he was in a feisty and defiant mood when he spoke to cheering supporters earlier in the day.“It would be my good fortune to die for the country,” he said. “My demands will not change. You can cut off my head but not force me to bow down.” In his letter, Singh struck a pointedly conciliatory tone, saying his government shared Hazare’s desire for the strongest possible anti-corruption laws. “At worst, our paths and methodologies may differ, though I do believe that even those differences have been exaggerated,” he said. “I have no hesitation in saying that we need your views and actions in the service of the nation, from a robust physical condition and not in the context of frail or failing health,” he added. With key state elections next year that pave the way for a 2014 general election, the government must end a crisis that has paralysed policy making and parliament and added to Singh’s unpopularity amid high inflation and corruption scams. Many of India’s middle class, the fastest growing population segment, have joined forces with Hazare to protest a system that requires bribes for everything from driver’s licences to birth certificates and a series of graft scandals that have touched top politicians and businessmen.Hazare’s health worsens, put on dripAnna Hazare has been put on intravenous drip as his condition has worsened, senior cardiologist Naresh Trehan, who heads a team of doctors attending on the social activist, yesterday evening. He said Hazare has refused to be shifted out to hospital. “He did not want to move from here. So we are putting him on drip here,” Trehan told hundreds of Hazare supporters gathered at the Ramlila ground where the 74-year-old campaigner is on a fast for a stronger Lokpal bill. “His blood count is deteriorating. And we suggested to him that he be shifted to hospital. But he outright refused. He said, ‘I would rather die’,” Trehan said. Asked how long Hazare could continue fasting, Trehan said: “We will monitor his condition tomorrow.”