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Congress to take PIL route to save Sonia's plum post

Tara Shankar Sahay in New Delhi

The Congress leadership has finalised a move to get a 'public-interest petition' filed against party chief Sonia Gandhi's removal as president of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts.

Top party sources told rediff.com that soon after the announcement on Sunday by Union Culture Minister Ananth Kumar declaring null and void the earlier amendments to the IGNCA's original trust deeds, resulting in Gandhi's removal as its president, "our leadership got busy".

The party leadership has decided to go to court against reconstitution of the trust by the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, which, however, has retained the Congress chief as a member.

The government's move, which had been anticipated by political observers ever since Vajpayee assumed office for the third time, has shocked the Congress leadership, especially Gandhi, because the earlier amendments to the original trust deeds made her president for life. The government's recast has restored the original trust and also filled up vacancies caused by the death of two members, P N Haksar and Pupul Jayakar.

By causing the PIL to be filed against Gandhi's removal as IGNCA chief, the Congress leadership wants to project the impression that the 'public' is incensed with this "act of political vendetta" by the Vajpayee government.

But sources in the home ministry pointed out that according to earlier media reports, the Congress chief had allegedly used IGNCA funds for her foreign trips and this was unacceptable to the government. That is why after obtaining legal advice, it had decided to treat the amendments to the trust deed as null and void, removing her from the post of president for life.

Congress spokesman Ajit Jogi and his party colleague Kapil Sibal, however, declined to comment on Gandhi's removal as IGNCA chief. "Wait for a few days, you will find that the Vajpayee government's vindictive action will not go unchallenged," a senior party functionary pointed out.

It is understood that once the petition is filed, the BJP will be dragged in the case. "Then we will have our opportunity to highlight the BJP-led government's misdeeds in removing Madam as president of the IGNCA," a Congress general secretary said, on condition of anonymity.

Apart from the Congress chief, other members who have been retained in the reconstituted trust include former prime minister P V Narasimha Rao, Professor Yash Pal, Abid Hussain and former president R Venkatraman.

Others named to the trust are musicians Bhimsen Joshi, K J Yesudas and Bhupen Hazarika, painter Anjolie Ela Menon, danseuse Sonal Mansingh, cine artist Aparna Sen, agriculturist M S Swaminathan, top lawyer and former diplomat L M Singhvi, journalist M V Kamath, educationist H Narsimhaiah, Indologist Vidya Niwas Mishra and Kuchipudi exponent Vedantham Sathya Narayana Sharma.

Former Bangalore University vice-chancellor N R Shetty was on Sunday named member-secretary for three years.

The Union culture minister said the fresh appointments were an attempt to rectify "various anomalies" that had crept into the IGNCA under Gandhi's stewardship.

The Congress chief had stepped in as IGNCA chief following Rajiv Gandhi's assassination on May 20, 1991. Rajiv Gandhi's appointment was originally for a ten-year term, which was to have expired in 1997. But the 1995 amendment confirmed his widow for life.

In 1998, after coming to power for the second time, the BJP-led government headed by Vajpayee challenged the amendment in court. And in September last year, the Delhi high court asked the government to take 'appropriate action' in the matter.

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