Chief minister Nitish Kumar and Anna Hazare at Bihar Niwas in New Delhi on Thursday. Picture by Ramakant Kushwaha

Patna, June 30: Chief minister Nitish Kumar met the social activist, Anna Hazare, with warmth. But he politely refused to give his immediate support to Team Anna’s draft Lokpal bill seeking to bring the Prime Minister in its ambit.

Hazare called on Nitish today at New Delhi-based Bihar Niwas as part of his efforts to garner support from the political parties and key personalities to his draft bill.

“Anna Hazare has given his draft bill to me. I will study it and discuss it with my party colleagues and alliance partners,” Nitish told reporters. The chief minister was quite cautious and kept his cards close to his chest on the issue of bringing the Prime Minister under the purview of the Lokpal.

Specifically asked if the Prime Minister should be brought under the Lokpal’s purview, Nitish said he would discuss the issue at an all-party meeting on July 3.

Nitish, however, added that the institution of the Lokpal should be broadened to ensure that it was helpful in curbing corruption. He said he would discuss the measures to curb corruption in Bihar with Team Anna in Patna.

Nitish admitted that the Union finance minister and chairman of the Lokpal bill drafting committee, Pranab Mukherjee, had written him (Nitish) a letter seeking his opinion on the issue. But Nitish had refused to reply to Pranab, saying that the Centre should first come out with its own opinion.

At the outset, Nitish appeared quite supportive to Hazare. He issued statements backing Anna’s first fast for introducing the Lokpal bill whole-heartedly. But the chief minister has, apparently, turned cautious after Anna “bracketed” Nitish with his Gujarat counterpart, Narendra Modi, and praised the two chief ministers for their “good work”.

Going by the working style of Nitish, the latter hardly relishes his comparison with Modi on any score whatsoever. Moreover, Nitish might not like some BJP hardliners lapping up Anna’s “tirade” on the Lokpal.

The Congress and other “secular” parties went hammer and tong saying that Anna’s movement was going on under the “tutelage” of the Sangh Parivar.