Government, Team Anna talks stuck on three issues

Talks between the government and Team Anna on a Lokpal bill continue to be hindered by three "sticking issues", civil society activist Kiran Bedi said on Wednesday, and law minister Salman Khurshid agreed that there had been no headway on them.

Talks between the government and Team Anna on a Lokpal bill continue to be hindered by three "sticking issues", civil society activist Kiran Bedi said on Wednesday, and law minister Salman Khurshid agreed that there had been no headway on them.

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"Another round of talks are on between Salman Khurshid and Team Anna," former police officer and Team Anna member Bedi tweeted, ahead of an all party meeting on the issue Wednesday afternoon.

The meeting at Khurshid's residence last for an hour.

After coming out of the meeting, Bedi tweeted: "Meeting over three sticking issues of Lokayukta and others held. Discussions continue. But we are running out of time. Today is vital".

According to her colleague Prashant Bhushan, the three main points of contention were inclusion of the lower bureaucracy in the ambit of the Lokpal, having a Lokayukta in every state and a citizen's charter for each government department.

"The meeting was good... but there has been no headway made," Khurshid said, refusing to comment more.

Bedi, Bhushan and Arvind Kejriwal had met finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and other ministers on Tuesday night to discuss the points of disagreement between them and the government on the Lokpal bill.

Home Minister P. Chidambaram has submitted a report on the situation arising out of Anna Hazare's fast over a strong Lokpal bill to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

Sources said a final decision would be taken after this meeting, as opposition parties had pointed out that the government had taken all decisions without consulting them.

Activist Hazare's fast entered the ninth day Wednesday, causing worries among his supporters about his deteriorating health.

Expressing concern, Khurshid said: "A good bill can come 10-15 days later but a fast cannot be broken 20 days later. So if we look at the priorities of urgency, then the urgency that the fast must come to an end is far greater, more serious than the urgency to pass the bill."