'Standing Committee is postponement tactic'

Team Anna appears to be against the Jan Lokpal Bill being referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's offer.

Team Anna appears to be against the Jan Lokpal Bill being referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee, despite Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's offer.

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"The Standing Committee is not not essenitial for passing a legsilation. Bills are placed and passed in Parliament without even discussion. No purpose is served by sending the bill to Standing Committee," Prashant Bhushan, one of the close associates of Anna Hazare, told NDTV on Tuesday.

He said referring the bill to the Standing Committee is only to "postpone" the issue.

On discussions with union minister Salman Khurshid, Bhushan said they were informal in nature and "I don't know whether what he says will have the backing of the entire government."

He also said he was not not sure whether Hazare would be willing to suspend his fast merely on the appointment of a credible negotiator.