Make-or-break moment as Lokpal Bill drafting committee meets today

Union ministers and civil society representatives in the Lokpal Bill joint drafting committee will meet on Monday in a last ditch effort to resolve contentious issues in the proposed anti-corruption legislation.
The meeting comes amidst the persisting deadlock between the two sides and will be the eighth since April 16.
If the discussions are not concluded on Monday, another round of talks is likely on Tuesday.
Ahead of the meeting, senior ministers held discussions for nearly three hours on Sunday to finetune the government's strategy.
The meeting was chaired by Finance Minister and drafting committee chairman Pranab Mukherjee and attended by members Kapil Sibal, Salman Khurshid and Veerappa Moily.
N. Narayanaswamy, Minister of State in PMO, also attended the meeting. Home Minister P. Chidambaram, who is another committee member, was not present.
Key issues
Several issues have kept the government and civil society camps divided. Both are at loggerheads on whether to bring the prime minister and judiciary under the purview of the proposed Lokpal Bill.
While the government has virtually ruled out bringing the post of prime minister under the Lokpal, Anna Hazare's camp remains adamant on it. The Congress Core Group has favoured convening an all-party meet on the issue.
Another bone of contention is the conduct of MPs inside Parliament. The government has maintained that this is not possible in the proposed legislation as it would amount to amending the Constitution.
Hegde backs Hazare

Meanwhile, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde, a member of the drafting committee, denied any split in the Hazare camp and said he will attend the meeting.
Hegde also backed Hazare's planned fast from August 16. Hegde's earlier comments on Hazare's fast and absence from meetings had fuelled speculation of differences among the civil society representatives.