Ahead of Wednesday's meeting of the joint committee to draft the Lokpal Bill, civil rights activist Anna Hazare was hopeful on Tuesday of resolving the differences the civil society members have with government representatives on contentious issues such as like inclusion of the office of Prime Minister, the judiciary and MPs' conduct in Parliament in the ambit of the Lokpal.
Talking to journalists here, he said the differences could be resolved through dialogue, not confrontation.
All five civil society members stayed away from the committee's last meeting of June 6 to protest the police action on the Ramlila grounds to break up the fast yoga guru Baba Ramdev observed to demand action to curb corruption. But the government members went ahead with the meeting and said they had finalised decisions on various issues, which would be shared with the civil society members at the panel's two-day deliberations beginning on Wednesday.
In the meantime, Mr. Hazare has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress president Sonia Gandhi, bringing to their notice the nuances that impeded progress at the meetings.
Mr. Hazare, however, said he would approach Wednesday's meeting with an open mind, stressing that dialogue was the only way to sort out the contentious issues.
