Anna mounts pressure, govt ready to talk over Lokpal Bill

Considering the unending support to his anti-graft movement, the central government on Friday cleared its stand over the implementation of the Lokpal Bill and urged social activist Anna Hazare to come forward to discuss contents of his Jan Lokpal Bill to resolve the contentious issue. The government first imprisoned Hazare in Delhi's Tihar Jail on August 16, then ordered his release, and finally, when he refused to leave from jail, granted him permission to stage his fast for 15 days at Ramlila ground, a prominent protest site in the national capital. Union Law Minister Salman Khursheed suggested that the Hazare team should discuss their version of the Lokpal Bill with the government panel and both together should thereafter make the changes in it.