The government on Tuesday began formal talks with the members of Team Anna to end the deadlock on the Lokpal Bill in the first major breakthrough in the week-long standoff. The Government side is represented by Finance Minister, Pranab Mukherjee. Law Minister Salman Khurshid and Member Parliament from Delhi, Sandeep Dikshit are also from the Government side. The Civil Society group comprises Prashant Bhushan, Arvind Kejriwal and Kiran Bedi.The talks are being held at North Block, New Delhi.

In a related development, the Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh wrote a letter to Anna Hazare saying that Jan Lokpal Bill will be presented before the Standing Committee if Lok Sabha Speaker allows so. The Prime Minister said that if Anna Hazare is keen about the time and speed of the passage of the Lokpal bill, Government will formally request the Standing Committee to fast track their deliberations. He urged Anna to break his fast and expressed concern over his health. Dr. Singh assured Anna Hazare that they are together in the fight against corruption.