4. On 5th April 2011, Shri Anna Hazare went on an indefinite fast. Correspondence with the representatives of Sh Anna Hazare and the Govt. representatives took place. On 8th April 2011, Government constituted a Joint Drafting Committee (JDC) consisting of five nominees of Shri Anna Hazare including himself and five nominee Ministers of Government to prepare a draft of the Lokpal Bill. Shri Hazare ended his fast on 9th April 2011.
5. The JDC met nine times during April-June 2011. In the first meeting of JDC on 16th April 2011, preliminary discussions were held to draft the legislation for the Lokpal. During the second meeting of the Committee, 40 Basic Principles and the Statement of Objects and Reasons were circulated by Shri Hazare’s team which formed the basis of discussions in subsequent meetings of the Committee. There were extensive deliberations on the ‘basic principles’ wherein the scope and vision of the proposed Lokpal were discussed. Out of 40 Basic Principles, we have agreed on 26. Editorial changes were required in case of 7 Principles. On remaining 7 Principles, we agreed for further discussion. There was some divergence of views between the representatives of the Government and the representatives of the Civil Society on the vision and scope of the Lokpal. The six major areas of divergent views were: