VHP takes on RJD in cultural forum

The VHP even threatened to launch a movement and muster the support of artistes and intellectuals, obviously owing allegiance to the BJP. The VHP leadership has been highly critical about the role of the present secretary, Tanveer Akhtar, and even went on to raise the issue of his involvement in the fodder scam.

In fact, the VHP activists did not raise this issue when the residence of Akhtar was raided by the income tax authorities nearly a year back.

The term of the present council of the functionaries of the Akademi expired on August 18 and since then thegovernment has not moved to initiate reconstitution of the committee. While there have been sharp differences on the names of the president and vice-president, the concerned minister, Abdul Bari Siddiqi, is in favour of giving an extension to the present secretary, Akhtar.

The VHP, in an astute move, intends to charge the minister with patronising a corrupt person as the secretary. It even quoted from the FIL noting of the minister that he was even going against his own observations that new talent should be given an opportunity every three years.

The VHP demanded that uncontroversial people should be inducted as president, vice-president and secretary of the Akademi. The government must ensure that the Akademi is not turned into a grazing ground for people with political background. People truly devoted to art and culture should be entrusted with the responsibility to run the Akademi, it said.

VHP sources, however, maintain that of late the VHP leadership has been under pressure from intellectualsbelonging to the BJP to get rid of pro-RJD and Left artistes and personalities from such art fora. This is the first concerted move by the VHP in this direction. The VHP intends to launch similar action against other cultural fora.

A senior art personality said that they would certainly protest against any such move to divest cultural bodies of eminent personalities.