'Some hope' of finding solution: Khurshid on Lokpal issue

New Delhi, Aug 24: After two rounds of talks with Team Anna, Government today (Aug 24) said there is "some hope" of finding a solution to sticky issues relating to the Lokpal Bill.

"If there have been two meetings in last 24 hours, I cannot say we are stagnant....Some hope must have been there...We are trying to find out possibilities of finding some solution...(and) trying to know what is the difficulty and where," Law Minister Salman Khurshid told reporters here.

Emerging after a meeting with Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee, Khurshid said that the government is "seriously concerned" about Hazare's health and, hence, making efforts to find some way to ensure that the Gandhian's health remains fine.

He, at the same time, clarified there has been "no agreement (and) no specific content and no issue has been discussed. Just a sense of it...What are the sticking points that can be removed so that his fast can be broken...That is all we are trying to do." Khurshid said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will seek the views of other parties at the all-party meeting about how to go forward on the issue.

The minister said that the talks between the government and the civil society have taken place twice and "there is hope of a communication." Replying to questions on whether the government has prepared a new draft on the Lokpal Bill, Khurshid replied in negative.

"I want to say clearly that no draft has been prepared but when we talk, some thing comes out of it," he said, adding that the government was trying to work out the modalities for the dialogue.

PTI