{"id":10083,"date":"2011-08-23T18:08:22","date_gmt":"2011-08-23T18:08:22","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2011-08-23T18:08:22","modified_gmt":"2011-08-23T18:08:22","slug":"Indian-PM-offers-concessions-to-fasting-activist","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/asiancemagazine.com\/?p=10083","title":{"rendered":"Indian PM offers concessions to fasting activist"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Indian government opened talks yesterday with aides to fasting anti-graft activist Anna Hazare, as Premier Manmohan Singh offered concessions to persuade the 74-year-old to end his hunger strike.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The talks between Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Arvind Kejriwal, a senior member of Hazare’s campaign, were the first in a dispute that has brought hundreds of thousands onto the streets and boxed Singh’s graft-tainted government into a tight political corner.<\/p>\n

The veteran activist’s fast against corruption is focused on anti-graft legislation known as the “Lokpal” (Ombudsman) Bill, recently introduced in parliament.<\/p>\n

Hazare insists the current bill is toothless, and is demanding the government adopt and pass his own, more aggressive, version by August 30.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a letter to the activist on Tuesday, Singh offered a compromise, saying the government would request the speaker of parliament to refer Hazare’s version to the committee that is currently reviewing the government’s draft<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Singh said he would also ask the committee to fast-track its deliberations “to the extent reasonably feasible”.<\/p>\n

Singh has called an all-party meeting on the crisis for Wednesday but faces an uphill struggle in building a consensus with opposition parties who have accused him of misjudging and mishandling Hazare’s populist campaign.<\/p>\n

Concerns over Hazare’s health, with aides saying he has lost 5.6 kilogrammes (12.3 pounds), have only added to the prime minister’s predicament.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Despite those concerns, a feisty Hazare was in defiant mood when he spoke to cheering supporters earlier yesterday at the open-air venue in central Delhi where he is staging his public fast.<\/p>\n

“It would be my good fortune to die for the country,” he said. “My demands will not change. You can cut off my head but not force me to bow down.”<\/p>\n

He is attended by a team of doctors, who regularly check his blood pressure and monitor other vital signs.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Hazare’s campaign is particularly sensitive for Singh’s government, which has been rocked by a succession of multi-billion dollar corruption scandals implicating top officials.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Source AFP<\/strong>
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