Government-Team Anna talks moving in positive direction: Mediator

BHOPAL: A Madhya Pradesh-based spiritual leader, involved in back channel negotiations between the Centre and fasting Anna Hazare, on Monday said the ongoing talks to resolve the Lokpal logjam have so far been "fruitful" and are moving in a "positive" direction.

"I am trying my best to convince both sides (to arrive at an agreement). It will take time, but at the moment I can only say that the talks have been fruitful so far and moving in a positive direction," Uday Singh Deshmukh, popularly known as " Bhayyu Maharaj," told PTI over phone from Delhi.

"Efforts are going on to resolve the issue with full vigour," said the Indore-based spiritual leader, who is known to several top politicians from Maharashtra, Hazare's home state.

"Things will take time to resolve. Media have played a tremendous role in presenting this whole issue (Lokpal) in a very transparent manner," said Bhayyu Maharaj, when asked to specify the time it will take to break the deadlock.

Without giving any timeframe for the talks between Team Anna and the Government, he maintained that intentions of both sides are honest.

Bhayyu Maharaj enjoys good rapport with the 73-year-old Gandhian, who is on a fast in New Delhi since August 16 to demand a strong anti-corruption ombudsman.

The spiritual leader, along with senior Maharashtra bureaucrat Umesh Chandra Sarangi, has been engaged by the Government to initiate back-room negotiations to end Hazare's fast at Ramlila Maidan in the national capital.