New Delhi, Aug. 19: Anna Hazare and his lieutenants today said their agitation wasn’t just for enacting a Jan Lokpal bill, but “parivartan” or a systemic change.

Hazare said his agitation at the Ramlila Maidan would continue well beyond the 15-day timeframe if his group’s version of the Lokpal bill was not placed in Parliament. At present, Hazare has permission to fast only for 15 days.

He also said that he would lay down his life fasting if the government did not pass the Jan Lokpal bill by the end of this month.

Hazare and his team members such as Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan said the Parliament would have to pass the Jan Lokpal bill, and not the Lokpal bill that the government had introduced.

While Bhushan came across as a bit more conciliatory, Kejriwal and Hazare insisted that they would be firm on their demands. At present, the government introduced Lokpal bill is with the Parliamentary Standing Committee.

“The government is using the Parliamentary Standing Committee as a shield,” said Kejriwal, demanding that only their version of the Jan Lokpal bill should be enacted by the Parliament into a law.

However, minutes before that Bhushan had said that they were “open to discussions with the government and had an open mind but will not compromise on corruption.”

But Hazare and Kejriwal said there wouldn’t be any compromise on their demand – Parliament should pass the Jan Lokpal bill.

“The government’s claim that only five of us have drafted the Jan Lokpal bill is erroneous. It is a bill drafted by the people of this country,” said Kejriwal.

The former revenue service officer said there was no reason for the Jan Lokpal bill to be defeated in the Parliament if the UPA, which has a majority in the House, votes for it. Kejriwal also alleged that the government was misleading the people by claiming that a higher judiciary would be brought under the judicial accountability bill.

“I have taken the decision to agitate till the Jan Lokpal bill is passed. We will intensify our ‘jail bharo’ agitation if the government fails to pass the Jan Lokpal bill by August 30. I will continue this agitation till my last breath. We will not go back on our demands,” he said.

Earlier, in the morning, Kiran Bedi, another member of Hazare’s team, said their protest was also about “parivartan”.