Vilasrao Deshmukh to negotiate between govt and Team Anna

New Delhi: As the pressure started building on Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi to resolve Lokpal row amid growing concerns over fast Anna Hazare’s health, Union Science and Technology Minister and former Maharashtra chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh was on Tuesday appointed as the negotiator by the government to deal with Hazare and his associates, according to television reports.

The Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had earlier met Agriculture Minister and Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar along with Deshmukh.

A day earlier, the fasting Hazare had indicated his willingness to talk to the government over a strong Lokpal Bill. In an interview to a news channel, Anna said he would negotiate only with Congress MP Rahul Gandhi, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) or Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, said media reports.

According to the channel, the 74-year-old anti-corruption campaigner added in an interview to a TV news channel that negotiations could not take place with non-government mediators.

In the wake of Hazare's continuing fast, the Congress core committee on Monday held meeting at PM residence and discussed the government's response to the demands from Team Anna of holding negotiations with the top political level.