In the midst of continued stand-off between the government and civil society activists on the proposed Lokpal bill, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Friday met President Pratibha Patil and briefed her about the efforts being made to resolve the issue.
"The Prime Minister briefed the President about the efforts being made by the government to resolve the differences with the civil society activists on the proposed Lokpal bill," a Rashtrapati Bhavan spokesperson said.
During the 35-minute meeting, the Prime Minister and the President discussed about various issues of national and international importance and also the President's forthcoming visit to Mauritius.
The fast unto death of social activist Anna Hazare, demanding formation of a joint committee to draft an effective Lokpal bill entered the fourth day on Friday with differences persisting on the issue of the chairmanship of the committee being given to a civil society member and an official notification being issued.
Earlier in the day, Dr Singh had a meeting with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and his cabinet colleagues at her 7 Race Course Road residence.
The government is also reaching out to the editors of TV news channels through senior ministers Ambika Soni, Gulam Nabi Azad, Salman Khursheed and Pavan Kumar Bansal to impress upon them to understand the sensitivity of issue.
But at the fasting venue of Anna Hazare, Yoga guru Baba Ramdev was whipping up the emotions by his popular songs to counter corruption.
With inputs from PTI
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