New Delhi, April 11: The Sonia Gandhi-headed National Advisory Council (NAC) may withdraw its mandate to recast the Lokpal Bill following the “success” of the agitation spearheaded by social activist Anna Hazare at Jantar Mantar, said a panel source.

The protest culminated in the constitution of a joint government-civil society panel to draft a new anti-graft law. The committee is co-chaired by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee and former law minister Shanti Bhushan.

Apart from Bhushan senior, his son Prashant Bhushan, Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde and RTI campaigner Arvind Kejriwal — who were in solidarity with Hazare during his latest hunger strike — are members of the committee who were engaged with the NAC when it began working on the Lokpal Bill.

An NAC source said Sonia was expected to take a last call on whether she wanted her panel to persist with its endeavour on the bill or leave it entirely to the new committee to “avoid duplication and clashes”.

The NAC has specially set up a working group on transparency, accountability and governance, under the convenorship of Aruna Roy, to look at a stronger Lokpal Bill. It held its first meeting on April 4. Apart from the core group comprising NAC members A.K. Shiva Kumar, Mirai Chatterjee, Deep Joshi, Harsh Mander and N.C. Saxena, the discussions included the Bhushans, Hegde and Kejriwal.

The working group was slated to confer with them on April 16 but that meeting now looks uncertain, said a source.

Apart from not wishing to replicate the efforts or “poach” on the government’s turf, the NAC had reservations about the way in which Hazare and his advisers went about the issue.

“The processes of consultation must be genuine, widespread and inclusive and not over-ride people’s concerns. We want a powerful Lokpal but such an authority cannot just get after politicians. Corruption is relative, it covers all aspects of society, bureaucrats, doctors etc,” a panel member said.

Another member said: “Bypassing democratic processes for political expediency, however desirable the outcome, may be detrimental to democracy itself. The point is not about equal representation of civil society members in the Group of Ministers who are entrusted with drafting the bill. It is that the government must immediately announce its intention to bring a strong legislation based on wide public consultations.”

NAC representatives said they also had a “problem” with the projection of the Hazare show. “It was media-driven. More disturbing was the presence of pro-Hindutva elements and the support that Hazare expressed for Narendra Modi,” said a member.