Maneka loses Culture portfolio

By Harish Khare

NEW DELHI, NOV. 18. In an unexpected development, Mrs. Maneka Gandhi was stripped of her ministerial charge of `Culture.' According to a late night communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan, the President had, on the advice of the Prime Minister, assigned the Culture portfolio to Mr. Jagmohan, the Minister for Tourism. Mrs. Gandhi would, however, continue to be a Minister of State with independent charge of the Department of Statistics, with additional charge of `Animal Care.'

It is understood that by stripping Mrs. Gandhi of the Culture portfolio, the Prime Minister, Mr. Atal Behari Vajpayee, has sought to appease Mrs. Sonia Gandhi, the Congress president and Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha. The two daughters-in- law of Mrs. Indira Gandhi have a distinctly sour and unfriendly relationship.

It is pointed out by perceptive observers that the immediate fall-out of the change in Mrs. Maneka Gandhi's charge is that Mrs. Sonia Gandhi would not have to share the limelight with her estranged sister-in-law on Monday when the Ministry of Culture organises a major function at the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts on Indira Gandhi's birth anniversary.

Mrs. Maneka Gandhi had recently made a few caustic remarks about Mrs. Sonia Gandhi and her claim to be a custodian of the Indira Gandhi legacy; the AICC establishment was quick to join issue with Mrs. Maneka Gandhi.

It should be noted that only yesterday, the Prime Minister had invited Mrs. Sonia Gandhi to his residence for an hour-long dialogue over various issues likely to figure in the Parliament session beginning on Monday. The invitation to Mrs. Gandhi was described as an attempt to seek the cooperation of the Congress in making the Lok Sabha proceed constructively. And a day later, Mr. Vajpayee has moved Mrs. Maneka Gandhi out of the Ministry of Culture. An entirely personal gesture towards the Leader of the Opposition.

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