On the tenth day of Anna Hazare's fast, Lok Sabha today unanimously appealed to him to end his hunger strike as his life was "much too precious", with prime minister Manmohan Singh saying he has "registered his point" and that Jan Lokpal would be considered by parliament.

Singh hailed the Gandhian, saying he had become "an embodiment of the disgust and concern of the people over corruption" and that he respected him.

"I respect his idealism. I respect him as an individual... I applaud him. I salute him. His life is much too precious and therefore I would urge Hazare to end his fast," he said replying to a debate on corruption which was pressed for by the opposition in the wake of Hazare's fast.

Singh invited the House to issue a joint appeal to Hazare to end his fast. Leader of the opposition Sushma Swaraj supported this following which speaker Meira Kumar spoke about the sentiments of the House with an appeal that he should end his fast.

With regard to Hazare's demand for passing his version of the Lokpal bill by parliament, Singh said, "We will find effective ways and means to discuss the Jan Lokpal bill, along with the government version of the bill, Aruna Roy's bill and the paper presented by Jaiprakash Narayan."

Contending that "all ideas will be discussed, debated so that we have the best possible Bill which will help us to deal with corruption, he said parliament should discuss the "strong and weak points" of all the bills which are in public domain and send the entire record for consideration of the standing committee.

Singh said he was of the view that "this will meet the point that Anna Hazare and his team have been making that parliament must have a chance to debate the bill drafted by them. This is one via media which will respect parliament's supremacy and enable parliament to take on board the Jan Lokpal ill," Singh said.

He said he had given thought on the issues raised by Team Hazare in "great depth".

Lauding Hazare, Singh said he had "made his point and that has been registered with us. I respect his idealism. He is the embodiment of people's disgust with corruption."

Amid thumping of desks, he said Hazare should live a long and happy life in the service of the people.

"I respectfully request him to end his fast. This will be a befitting finale of the debate on corruption," Singh said.

Swaraj supported the prime minister's appeal and said the nation was committed to bringing a strong and effective anti-graft legislation.

Reflecting the sentiments of the house, the speaker hoped that Hazare would get the unanimous message of the lok sabha and end his fast.

Contending that the government would "work with single minded devotion to leave behind for posterity" a bill to meet the challenge posed by corruption, Singh said "we are open to all suggestions and we will work with all sections for a strong and effective bill on which there is a national consensus."

He said the government has a bill that reflects its thinking. But "we are open to persuasion and have an open mind."

Singh took strong exception to personal attack by the opposition that he was "conniving with corruption" and asked leader of the opposition to check his assets to see whether he had made any money.

Earlier report

Adopt a more rational approach: PM to Anna Hazare

 Asking Anna Hazare to adopt a "more rational approach" with regard to his demand for a strong Lokpal, prime minister Manmohan Singh on Thursday made it clear that parliamentary democracy cannot be undermined.

Responding to a letter from former chief justice J S Verma, Singh asserted that it is only after "due deliberation" that a law can be passed that not only meets the aspirations of the people but is also "practical and effective".

Virtually rejecting the August 30 deadline set by Hazare for passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill, he said, "It is the bounden duty of parliament to pass a law only after its members have had reasonable time and opportunity to hear a wide range of public opinions and apply their minds to its various provisions."

The prime minister asked Verma to use his good offices to urge Hazare and his supporters "to adopt a more rational approach in dealing with this complex problem".

Singh's letter came after talks between government and Team Anna ended in a deadlock last night with two sides failing to resolve sticky issues, prompting the civil society to declare that they were "back to square one".

Hazare's fast entered the tenth day today amid mounting concerns over his health and his team accusing "some strong elements" in the government of nullifying the entire dialogue process.

Noting that Verma's letter mentions that the rule of law is the bedrock of democracy, the prime minister said "I cannot agree more except to say that our great constitution has served this country very well through difficult times and we should do nothing that in any way undermines the parliamentary democracy of which the country is so proud.

Agreeing that in an inclusive democracy every section of civil society has a participative role in governance, including that of policy making, Singh said he has no difference with Verma's proposal that the views of the entire civil society must be presented along with the government draft of the Lokpal bill to the parliament for consideration.

"However, Anna Hazare ji and his supporters insist that the Jan Lokpal bill, which perhaps reflects one section of views, must be passed in this session of parliament itself and without referring it to the standing committee," Singh added.

Maintaining that he was as "pained" as Verma at the corruption faced by the citizens in many of their dealings with the government, he said the country is agreed on the necessity and urgency of remedial action to curb corruption.

"It is a complex problem and we have to act on a number of fronts. The Right to Information Act was one such landmark measure that we took and it has had a salutary effect. But much more needs to be done and the problem has to be tackled from different angles and at different levels," Singh said in the letter yesterday, a day after he wrote to Hazare requesting him to end his fast.

The prime minister also agreed that Hazare has rendered a great public service by mobilising public opinion against corruption.