By IANS,
New Delhi : The third round of talks between civil society members and the government ended in a logjam over the Lokpal issue Wednesday with aides of fasting Anna Hazare saying they were “back to square one”.
“Unfortunately we have to report that we seem to be back to square one,” advocate Prashant Bhushan told reporters after the meeting with government representatives.
Bhushan said the three “sticking points” of the inclusion of the lower bureaucracy, state ombudsman and citizen’s charters in the Lokpal remain contention.
“We have been told that the parliament procedure of the standing committee cannot be short circuited,” he said.
Former police officer Kiran Bedi, another aide of Hazare, said the government was not interested in having a strong anti-corruption watchdog.
“There is a remarkable change in the attitude of the government,” Bedi said.