As the fast unto death by anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare continued for the third day on Thursday, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh held a meeting with Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal and top officials including Cabinet Secretary K. M. Chandrashekhar and Principal Secretary T.K.A. Nair.
Earlier in the day, Sibal had held talks with Hazare's associates - RTI activist Arvind Kejriwal and activist Swami Agnivesh. The talks had failed to break the deadlock over the activists' demand for a Jan Lokpal bill.
There was some ray of hope after Hazare said he would not be the chairman of any joint committee to look into the provisions of the proposed bill. The Gandhian said he would only like to work in the capacity of a member or advisor.
Congress president Sonia Gandhi had also appealed to Hazare to break his fast, but the activists remained unrelenting. They demanded that Sonia convene a meeting of the National Advisory Council to recommend the Lokpal Bill.
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