After a week's standoff,Prime Minister Manmohan Singh led the 'pacify Anna' operation from the front on Tuesday evening,personally writing a letter to the social activist,picking seasoned troubleshooter Pranab Mukherjee to talk to his team and even assuring the Gandhian that the government would explore possibilities to make his Bill part of the legislation process. There was enough indication from morning that a face-saving strategy was evolving in the government's corridors soon after it convened an all-party meeting on Wednesday to arrive at a wider political consensus on the Janlokpal version. In a letter to Hazare the PM requested him to end the fast - Singh said the government would ask the Lok Sabha Speaker if Hazare's version of the Lokpal Bill could be sent to the Standing Committee,which is already examining the government's Bill. Standing Committee would then be formally asked to "fast track their deliberations to the extent reasonably feasible",Singh wrote. Singh said his government's objective was identical to that of Hazare and would talk to anybody to enact a constitutionally-valid and the best possible Lokpal while keeping in mind Parliamentary supremacy and Constitutional obligations. Over the last few days,I have watched with increasing concern the state of your health, he wrote to the civil activist who is fasting at Ramlila grounds for a strong Lokpal. Despite the differences between the government and your team,I do not think anybody is or should be in any doubt about the deep and abiding concern which I and our government share about your health,arising from your continuing fast, the Prime Minister said. The letter is actuated by the twin considerations of deep and genuine concern about your health and the emergence of a strong and effective Lok Pal Act in accordance with established constitutional precept and practice, Singh wrote. I do hope that you will consider my suggestions and end your fast to regain full health and vitality, he wrote. AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi had a meeting with Singh at his residence before the letter was written,party sources said. The government also appointed Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee as negotiator for talks with Team Anna Hazare over their demands for a strong Lokpal. The ice-breaking moment came about at Congress MP Sandeep Dikshit's bungalow where Law Minister Salman Khurshid met Hazare's close aide Arvind Kejriwal to discuss how to break the impasse. Rights activist Akhil Gogoi,who attended the meeting,said the minister made it clear the Prime Minister wants a solution through talks. While announcing the government's peace offering at the Ramlila grounds,Kejriwal said Anna Hazare would choose the team representative after his afternoon nap. It was later announced from the government's camp that Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan would meet Pranab Mukherjee later in the evening. After the meeting with Khurshid,Kejriwal confirmed talks have begun with the government but said a firm no when asked if there was any headway. Khurshid said the meeting was good,stating further he was just trying to understand what was happening. I wanted to know why they are so much agitated, Khurshid said. The minister said contact should be made at every level to break the Lokpal logjam. Party sources said the government was exploring various options on breaking the logjam. Sources said Congress President Sonia Gandhi,who is recuperating abroad after surgery,has been kept in the loop about developments back home and that she could come back by the month end. The Congress leadership is hopeful something will work out by the end of this week. The party is pinning hopes for some rationality at the all-party meeting tomorrow. The main concern is the health of Anna Hazare, a senior party functionary said. Meanwhile,a party MP said there is a sense of concern among young MPs with the development as Hazare's agitation was snowballing into a problem in their constituencies. Senior ministers Mukherjee,A K Antony and P Chidambaram had also met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the strategy ahead. Before that - to get a sense of Anna Hazare's methods - Pranab Mukherjee had met former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh,who has handled a few of Hazare's fasts before. Also present was prominent Maharashtra leader Sharad Pawar.
