Parliament to debate Lokpal Bill; Anna Hazare may end fast

Anna Hazare may break his fast on the eleventh day on Friday as a desperate UPA hopes to initiate a debate in Parliament on the Lokpal issue to break the logjam. Sources say the UPA wants Parliament to discuss all the versions of the Lokpal Bill, including the Jan Lokpal Bill, but is likely to go ahead with the proposal only if the draft resolution is acceptable to Team Anna.

Sources say Anna Hazare is likely to break his 11-day fast the moment a resolution on a strong Lokpal Bill is passed.

But there was confusion even after multiple rounds of talks over whether the Government and Team Anna will reach an agreement at all. Team Anna too seems divided over whether the 74-year-old anti-corruption crusader should call off his fast.

"We will find effective ways and means to discuss Jan Lokpal Bill along with the Government's version of the Bill, along with Aruna Roy's and Jayaprakash Narayan's. All ideas should be discussed and debated to get best possible bill to help us deal with corruption," said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday taking the initiative to end the Lokpal logjam.

The Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj aslo supported the Prime Minister's formula by saying, "We shall do everything to bring a strong Lokpal Bill".

The team Anna went into a huddle after the sense of the House was conveyed to them, but Anna Hazare was not convinced, and after consulting with his colleagues, he categorically spelt out that he would not concede on the three demands - appointment of lokayukta, lower bureaucracy and the citizen charter.

By evening, after multiple rounds of talks and consultations, the UPA was willing to debate all the versions of the Lokpal Bill through a resolution on Friday.

"Parliament will debate on the lines of what the Prime Minister said in the House today (Thursday). Other civil society bills will be discussed and then it will be send to Standing Committee where changes will be made. We want unanimity on the Bill," said Union Law Minister Salman Khursheed.

With a parliamentary debate looking imminent, Team Anna was out to convince other political parties on the draft of Jan Lokpal. Their first stop was the residence of senior BJP leader LK Advani, where after a 2-hour meeting with the BJP top brass, the two sides claimed to have narrowed down their differences on the Bill.

"We have met senior BJP leaders. We have given some clarifications on Jan Lokpal Bill and they broadly agree with our position," said RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal.

"We have made it clear that all the provisions should be in accordance with the Constitution," said BJP leader Arun Jaitley.

But the exact form and the content of the proposed resolution in Parliament is still not clear.

Parliament will discuss all the versions of the Lokpal Bill on Friday afternoon. If the debate is conducted under Rule 184, it will be followed by voting on a motion moved with the Speaker's consent.

If the discussion is conducted under Rule 193, there will be a short duration debate without voting.