Doing our best, says PM as Anna Hazare ups Lokpal ante

NEW DELHI: PM Manmohan Singh on Saturday kindled hopes of an early passage of the Lokpal Bill by asserting that the government will try to pass it in Parliament's ongoing session even as Anna Hazare mounted fresh pressure on the Centre.

Talking to media on his way back from Russia, Singh said his government is "working day and night" to draft the law and promised to try and ensure its passage. "We will make all effort to pass the bill in this session... it is my hope that by tomorrow we should be able to bring the bill to the Cabinet," he said. The Cabinet is to meet at 7.30 pm on Sunday.

The PM's promise came amid indications of a special two-day sitting of Parliament after Christmas to clear the bill in case it is unable to do so before Thursday when the winter session is to end. The session cannot be extended by more than a day because of Christmas. However, Parliament cannot hold sittings after Christmas. To achieve this, government may not prorogue the session.

The urgency made sense as Hazare on Saturday stepped up pressure by bringing forward his jail bharo campaign to December 30.