Union power minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Sunday said he was prepared to initiate a dialogue with social activist Anna Hazare, if instructed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Currently in his Lok Sabha constituency, Solapur in Maharashtra, he told Business Standard: "The Centre is firmly against corruption. Currently, talks are on with Anna at different levels. The Prime Minister is in the know of everything. On several occasions, leaders come up with a slew of demands but it is not always that all demands are met. I am prepared to mediate if told by the Prime Minister." He had, he made it clear, received no such instructions
While state chief minister from January 2003 to October 2004, he had successfully brokered a deal with Hazare after the latter went on a fast to press for resignation of four ministers on corruption charges.
Shinde took a decision to appointed a commission of inquiry headed by former Supreme Court judge P B Sawant, who came out with a comprehensive report in 2005.
