The National Advisory Council (NAC) was an advisory body set up by the first United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in 2004 to advise the Prime Minister of India, Manmohan Singh. Sonia Gandhi served as its chairperson for much of the tenure of the UPA. Its aim was to assist the Prime Minister in achieving and monitoring missions and goals.
The concept of a NAC has been criticized by opposition parties and some scholars as not being in keeping with India's constitution, describing it as an alternative cabinet.[6][7][8][9] The NAC also finalized draft recommendations for a mandatory pre-legislative consultative process which led some to believe that constituted members of parliament are less important.[10][11] It was criticized by some scholars for drafting the communal violence bill in 2011, stating that it will "exacerbate communalism" and destroy "the foundations of our federal structure".[12] The NAC was also accused of exercising an outsized influence over the central government. The council ceased to exist when the BJP government took office after the 2014 Indian general elections.
^"Sonia as NAC head is psuedo-Constitutional [sic] power centre: BJP". Indian Express. 30 March 2010. Archived from the original on 8 January 2016. Retrieved 9 June 2016. BJP on Tuesday said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi's appointment as Chairperson of National Advisory Council has created a 'psuedo-Constitutional power centre' which would lead to 'redundancy' of the post of Prime Minister.
