April 8, 2011 2:30 PM

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Govt to hold third round of talks with representatives of Anna Hazare

The Government will hold third round of talks with representatives of Anna Hazare on the Lokpal Bill, a few hours from now as earlier discussions remained inconclusive. Senior Congress leader and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has appealed to Anna Hazare to end his hunger strike, which entered the fourth day, and join the informal committee to prepare an effective Lokpal Bill. Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in New Delhi, he said, talks are going on with Anna Hazare, who is sitting on a fast-unto-death at Jantar Mantar to press for an effective Lokpal Bill to deal with corruption. Congress President Sonia Gandhi, who had yesterday appealed to Hazare to end his fast, today met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and discussed the issue. Senior ministers Pranab Mukherjee, Kapil Sibal and Mrs Gandhi's political secretary Ahmed Patel were also present. Mr Sibal told reporters that it is not possible to issue an official notification on the constitution of the joint committee, but the government is willing to issue an official letter through Law Ministry and a press note. At Jantar Mantar in New Delhi, Hazare announced a fill the jail protest from April 13 across the country, while asking people to stick to non-violence during the agitation. AIR correspondent reports the supporters of Anna Hazare in Mumbai have started a mass contact programme at Azad Maidan to convince people to join the campaign against corruption. The agitation has gathered momentum as Bollywood personalities have come forward to Hazare pledging support to Hazare. While actor Aamir Khan has penned a letter in favour of the bill, Shekhar Kapur, Anupam Kher, Priyanka Chopra, Neetu Chandra, Diya Mirza, Madhur Bhandarkar, Farhan Akhtar have tweeted demanding Hazare’s demand be met at the earliest.

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