Air tickets of two civil society members of the joint drafting committee of Lokpal bill- Anna Hazare and Santosh Hegde were sponsored by the government.

The government had offered the members business class return tickets to and from Delhi for committee related work.

The committee members were also offered Rs 3500 for every sitting- an offer which they rejected.

“The tickets of Anna and Justice Santosh Hegde were reimbursed by the government but that was for economy class. We did not accept other offers including the fee they wanted to give us for every sitting,” said Arvind Kejriwal, member of the committee.

After holding eight meetings in the capital’s North Block, the joint drafting committee failed to reach on a consensus on key issues. These include bringing the prime minister’s office and higher judiciary under the Lokpal.

The draft of the bill which will be out before the cabinet for discussion has the views of both the sides on key issues.

After the last meeting of the committee on June 21, the civil society representatives have been meeting leaders of various political parties to lobby for their draft of the bill.

Meanwhile, Anna Hazare has said that he will go on a fast on August 16 to protest against the government’s draft of the bill.