Civil society members guarded on Bhushan controversy

Right to Information (RTI) activist and panel member Arvind Kejriwal declined to comment on the matter.

"I don't have to say anything on this... talk to Prashant Bhushan and Shanti Bhushan. I was here to discuss some sections and clauses of Lokpal bill draft," Kejriwal told reporters while coming out of the Bhushans' house here.

Another member of the panel, Justice (retd) N. Santosh Hegde said that the matter will be discussed in the meeting of the civil society group.  "We have to see what process was followed at government lab while testing the CD. If the CD is true, then the matter is serious and we will discuss the matter," said Hegde, while declining to comment if the Bhushans should step down.

Meanwhile, social activist Swami Agnivesh said the Bhushans should continue on the panel, and questioned the timing of the CD's release. "The government should investigate why the CD was released a day before the first meeting of the panel on April 16. There will not be any change in the committee as it will affect the formation of a stringent anti-graft law," he said.

The CD purpotedly contains a conversation between Shanti Bhushan,  Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav, and then party general secretary (now expelled) Amar Singh on fixing a judge for a hefty consideration. The CD has been tested in different labs which have given different versions on its authenticity.