Date:28/05/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/05/28/stories/2004052808000300.htm

New Delhi

Plea to put off Akademi's meet

By Our Special Correspondent

NEW DELHI, MAY 27. Three days into office and the Union Minister for Culture, S. Jaipal Reddy, has to contend with a representation to postpone a meeting of the General Council of the Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) to co-opt members into the body on the plea that an NDA Government's appointee would try to fill it with people with RSS leanings.

The SNA Chairperson, Sonal Mansingh, is an appointee of the Vajpayee Government. The apprehension is that she may try to co-opt members sympathetic to the RSS ideology into the General Council from which the Akademi's main decision-making body — the Executive Board — is formed.

The Safdar Hashmi Memorial Trust has written to Mr. Reddy asking him to intervene and postpone the meeting — scheduled for this Friday — till the Department of Culture "evolves a mechanism whereby the nomination of saffronised persons can be effectively stopped before the next meeting of the Council." Its contention is that since the "the General Council is headed by Ms. Mansingh (who openly canvassed for the BJP in the just-concluded elections), the co-opted members will be all saffronised persons."

Insiders maintain that it would be ideal for the new Government to step in now rather than after the new members are co-opted. The General Council of the Akademi is constituted for a five-year term. and consists of independent artists, nominees of the Central Government and every State and Union Territory, besides representatives of sister organisations.