Sushma seeks all-party meet on Lokpal Bill

Urging social activist Anna Hazare to end his fast, Bharatiya Janata Party leader Sushma Swaraj today demanded that the government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the Lokpal Bill.

Urging social activist Anna Hazare to end his fast, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sushma Swaraj on Thursday demanded that the government should convene an all-party meeting to discuss the Lokpal Bill.

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In a tweet on micro-blogging site Twitter, she said Hazare was a very well-respected leader and the BJP had lent its support to his cause.

"Shri Anna Hazare is a very well respected leader. We are with him in his crusade against corruption. His life is very precious. We request him to give up his fast. BJP has already lent its support to this cause. We demand that the government should convene an all party meeting to discuss the issue," she said.

She said the bill to fight corruption should be "very stringent and effective".

Earlier, the BJP said it agrees with the essence of Hazare's demand for a stronger instrument against corruption.

Party spokesman Prakash Javadekar said the draft of the Lokpal Bill brought out by the government was "toothless" and there was an urgency to have a more effective law to cover bureaucrats and political class.

Hazare's indefinite fast for stronger Lokpal Bill continued for the third day on Thursday.