Despite Sonia Gandhi's disclaimers few would believe that the ongoing smear campaign against the Anna Hazare-led group does not have her sanction. For all their unsavouriness, the likes of Digvijay Singh do not go about waging personal battles.

The Congress party and the coalition it leads at the centre have clearly refused to admit defeat even after losing the war of nerves over the Lokpal Bill drafting committee. The Congress president and the prime minister are making just the right noises expressing their resolve to fight corruption. But the so-called revelations about the civil society nominees on the panel, with the Congress turning to its tried and tested ally Amar Singh for his special skills, bear the unmistakable stamp of the ruling party.

So far the Bhushans and their three co-panelists from civil society have stood their ground, even as the Karnataka Lokayukta Justice Santosh Hegde found it hard to safely duck a Digvijay Singh bouncer. Sustained pressure may yet, however, yield the result that the smear campaigners desire, the veracity of allegations against the Bhushans and the others on the panel notwithstanding.

Given the overwhelming mass support (never mind certain sections of the media) to the Anna Hazare-led campaign though the Congress party needs to contemplate whether it can win in this case if civil society loses. Can a government smothered in graft afford to be seen as keeping an anti-graft law at bay just because it is so piqued?

Shouldn't Sonia Gandhi then call off the smear campaign, cut her party's losses and allow the aam aadmi to retain some faith in the system?