Santosh Hegde to suggest Anna Hazare a temporary solution

Justice Santosh Hegde, member of Jan Lokpal Bill drafting committee and former Lok Ayukta of Karnataka, said on Friday that he would talk with Anna Hazare about keeping the office of the prime minister and the judiciary out of the ambit of the bill, for the time being. He added, however, that he would go with the majority opinion within the Hazare team in this matter.

Hegde had earlier said that so long as eight other conditions that the government had been unwilling to concede to protesters seeking the introduction of the Jan Lokpal Bill in parliament were met, the two most contentious points could be kept in abeyance.

“I am ready to talk to Anna Hazare on whether the prime minister and the judiciary could be kept out of the purview of the Lokpal for the time being. However, the government has to come out in the open and agree to the eight other conditions in the Jan Lokpal Bill that it had earlier disagreed on,” Hegde said.

Hegde said he was happy that Hazare had been allowed to continue his fast at Ramlila Maidan. “The protest will go on beyond 15 days until the government passes the bill,” he said.

Hegde said, “We are not asking that the Jan Lokpal Bill be passed, as it is. We are only asking that the members of parliament know our demands, and discuss them.”