New Delhi:
Sonia Gandhi is once again the Chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC).
She will have the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister.
Sonia had quit the NAC in 2006 over the Office of Profit Controversy; she also stepped down as the MP from Rae Bareilly but was re-elected.
During the UPA government's first term, Sonia headed the government-funded council, set up to advise the coalition government on policy matters. In many ways, the NAC seemed to be a "super-government".
The Office of Profit controversy first targeted MP Jaya Bachchan for being a member of the UP Film Development Council. The actor was forced to quit her Rajya Sabha seat for allegedly violating the rule that stated MPs could not hold other paid public posts.
The Opposition, mainly the BJP and Bachchan's Samjawadi Party, used the Office of Profit law to then attack Sonia Gandhi and her position on the NAC.
Gandhi surprised many by resigning from the NAC and the Lok Sabha. At the time, she said, "I have done this because this is the right thing to do."
When UPA second was formed last year, the National Advisory Council was not reconstituted. In its second innings, it is expected to once again oversee the flagship schemes of the UPA coalition like the Food Security Act.