I am not willing to negotiate with PM: Anna Hazare

The rift between Team Anna and the government has continued to widen with each passing day and on the third day of his fast, anti-corruption activist Anna Hazare said he had no expectations from the government, which has so far not opened any lines of communication with him or his aides. Responding to the government’s tough stand, Hazare said on Tuesday evening, “We dont want anyone to come and talk to us. We dont need ministers to come and talk to us. The agitation will continue till our demands are met.” “I am not even ready to talk to the Prime Minister,” he said [caption id=“attachment_399023” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Anna Hazare has refused to back down. AP[/caption]Government officials have been maintaining that they are not going to engage with Team Anna and it was upto Hazare’s associates to convince him to end the fast. In a report, Minister of State in the PMO V Narayanswamy termed the hunger strike a “drama”. Hazare also said he was willing to return the awards conferred on him by the government. The anti-corruption activist had been given the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan for his work. “I returned my Padma Shri when Shard Pawar was Chief Minister on the issue of corruption. These awards were given to me and it is not that I asked for them. I can return Padma Bhushan at the right time from this stage,” he said. Supporters of Hazare, including Arvind Kejriwal, have been on a hunger strike since last week seeking the formation of a special investigation team to probe claims of corruption against ministers in the UPA government, including the Prime Minister.