Daijiworld Media Network

New Delhi, Jun 25: Congress Working Committee (CWC), the supreme decision making committee within the Congress party, met in New Delhi on Friday June 24 to discuss issues related to the Lokpal Bill draft.

The meeting headed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi has pledged full support to the government led by Manmohan Singh, and decided not to bow to the pressure exerted by Anna Hazare and team. It stood firm on the issue of excluding Prime Minister from the Lokpal ambit.

With harldy a week to go before the all-party meeting on the issue, the CWC attains much significance in deciding the Congress stand.

It is learnt that majority of the CWC members voiced similar view, and determined not to be coerced by Anna Hazare. A member opined that it would be undemocratic if the government were to come under the pressure of only a handful of individuals.

The chief spokesperson of Congress Janardhan Diwedi remarked that Anna Hazare's proposed fast on August 16 will be ignored completely.

General secretary Digvijay Singh said at the meet that the Anna Hazare team was a mask of the RSS-BJP and there was a need to tackle the bigger threat of saffron forces.

In her initial remarks, Sonia Gandhi set the tone of the proceedings, saying that from time to time she and the Prime Minister discuss issues related to corruption. "The government is serious about corruption," she said.