Vilasrao Deshmukh meets Hazare

Cong decides to send Maha leader as commissary

sarthak

Sarthak Ray | August 25, 2011



Amidst efforts to break the deadlock between government and Anna Hazare team, senior Maharashtrian leader and union minister Vilasrao Deshmukh today met the Gandhian to appeal to him to end his fast.

Following a meeting of Congress parliamentary party, where some members felt that leaders from Maharashtra should be roped in to talk to the 74-year-old Gandhian, Deshmukh drove to Ramlila Maidan to meet Hazare but maintained that it was "in his personal capacity."

"I met Anna Hazare to request him to end fast following the appeal by parliament and the prime minister," he told reporters after briefing finance minister Pranab Mukherjee about his 15-minute meeting with Hazare.

Describing his meeting with Hazare as "personal", the minister said he went there as so many people from Maharashtra were there. "Many people from my place is there, the sarpanch and others. We are also concerned about his health. Our efforts is to end his fast soon. We are trying everything that we can," Deshmukh said.

As former Maharashtra chief minister, Deshmukh has dealt with protests organised by Hazare in the state and there was a view that his experience could home in handy in dealing with the situation.

Earlier, a BJP delegation led by its general secretary J P Natta met Hazare and handed him a letter by party president Nitin Gadkari who also appealed to the Gandhian to end his fast. "We have told Hazare that our party will support a strong Lokpal bill and that are solidly behind him in this campaign," he said.

Comments

 

Other News

How the mind can help the body heal itself

Why do some people recover from illness against all odds? Can our beliefs, emotions and consciousness influence the body’s ability to heal? Drawing on over three decades of experience in medicine, research and medical innovation, internationally trained ophthalmologist and author Dr Dinesh Verma ex

1,364 anti-cancer formulations to cost less from today

The National Pharmaceutical Pricing Authority (NPPA), under the Department of Pharmaceuticals, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers, has capped trade margins on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) of 137 anti-cancer drugs. This was based on the recommendations of an Expert Committee constitute

Who checks the books?

I read about the news about the Coimbatore library over coffee this morning. On the face of it, the headline was about a political ‘war’ between the DMK and TVK. But what stayed with me was something much more important than the blame game behind what had transpired. A writer walking through

Development paradox: Falling poverty miracle and an inequality problem

India’s reduction in poverty over the past decade is a development achievement of considerable significance. The World Bank’s April 2026 ‘India Development Update’ estimates that the share of Indians living below the international extreme-poverty line of $3.00 per person per day i

In Arunachal, a river we call mother

In Arunachal Pradesh, the Siang is not just a river. For many of us, especially the Adi people, it is part of our family. Our grandparents fished in it. Children learned to swim in it. Our farms drink from it. When someone says a huge dam will be built on it, we do not hear the word "project".

A new retelling of the Mahabharata delves into key moments

In a time when every decision carries consequences and questions of ambition, power, loyalty, identity and moral choice continue to shape our lives, Dr. Arun Krishnan’s new book, ‘Mahakshana’ (Penguin India) offers a strikingly relevant retelling of the Mahabharata.  

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter