Congress president Sonia Gandhi is on Thursday unlikely to meet Anna Hazare who wanted to discuss with the Congress chief the civil society’s stand on the Lokpal Bill.
“No meeting is likely between Anna Hazare and Sonia Gandhi today. No appointment has been fixed for today,” sources at 10 Janpath, residence of Ms. Gandhi, said.
Mr. Hazare had on Wednesday said that he will try to persuade Ms. Gandhi to include the office of the Prime Minister in the Lokpal Bill.
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“We will meet all parties...We will meet Sonia and tell her if the Prime Minister is saying so, then what is the problem,” he had said.
He had said the incumbent Prime Minister is an honest man. “The Union Cabinet belong to India, the people in the Cabinet are our people. Then what is the problem in taking the decision? They should be able to take it for the country.”
Mr. Hazare was responding to Singh’s remarks that he had no hesitation in bringing himself under the purview of Lokpal but many of his Cabinet colleagues feel that bringing the institution of Prime Minister under it will create instability.
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Reaching out to political parties ahead of the all-party meeting, the Anna Hazare team had yesterday met CPI (M) General Secretary Prakash Karat and RLD chief Ajit Singh to explain their position on the Lokpal Bill.