New Delhi: Since the Central government took over the reins of the Lalit Kala Akademi (LKA) three years ago, the culture ministry has for the third time appointed a serving bureaucrat to head the national academy of art – albeit with a new designation this time.
The government named the ministry’s joint secretary, M.L. Srivastava, as the pro tem chairman of the Akademi. The designation was unlike that of the former joint secretary P.L. Sahu – LKA administrator. In April 2015, when the ministry brought the autonomous body directly under its control, then additional secretary K.K. Mittal was also appointed the administrator.
In October 2016, another administrator – although not a government official – painter C.S. Krishna Setty, was given the reins of the Akademi.
According to latest media reports, Srivastava was brought in because Setty’s term had expired. A government press note stated that Srivastava would continue to hold office till a regular chairman is appointed by the ministry.
However, a close look at the developments from 2015 till now point to several twists and turns, most of which lead to the moot questions: Has anything changed for the better for the Indian arts after the government took over the Akademi? If it hasn’t, how much more time will the government take to put the highest body of Indian arts in order?
Since 2013, the Akademi’s General Council and Executive Body have also been non-functional. No General Council means no vice-chairman either, as the Council elects one of its members to the post.
Coming back to the new designation given to Srivastava, why did the government not name him as yet another administrator in the first place?
The constitution of the LKA states that the government can take over the management of the Akademi if it is of the view that “proper management” was required, without which it “would be highly detrimental to the interests of the Akademi.” Minister Mahesh Sharma invoked the provision to dismiss then chairman K.K. Chakravarty and installed Mittal in his place on April 1, 2015, until further orders.
However, as per the constitution, the government can do so only “for a period not exceeding three years” and relinquish the management after three years or earlier. It means that the stipulated time for appointing a full-time chairman expired on April 1, 2018.
The Akademi constitution also says: “Where it becomes necessary, the President of India may appoint a pro tem chairman till the regular chairman is appointed.” Hence, Srivastava is LKA’s pro tem chairman, not an administrator, like his predecessors have been since 2015. Since the Akademi constitution doesn’t explicitly mention whether the pro tem chairman can be from the government or not, it gives the ministry the necessary leeway to continue appointing its officials for the post.
Nevertheless, it is binding on the government to appoint a full-time chairman within three years of taking over its management. Recent news reports, quoting ministry sources, said a search committee was formed a few weeks ago to find a new chairman. Sources told The Indian Express that “three names have been already shortlisted. The new chairman is likely to be appointed within 15 days” – clearly hinting that the ministry may be bidding for more time to name one but intends to do so.
The Wire contacted joint secretary Srivastava categorically to seek a confirmation on the time frame for selecting a full-time chairman besides asking who comprised the search committee, but has not received a response yet.
However, sources in the ministry told this correspondent that the search committee “is headed by BJP MP Vinay Sahasrabuddhe in his capacity as the chairman of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.”
According to the Akademi’s constitution, while its General Council will nominate a member of the search committee and submit to the president, the other two would be nominated by the president, “one of which shall be a past chairman of the Akademi, if available”. Together, the three-member committee will select three names out of which the president will pick one for the chairmanship.
Corruption in national academy of art?
According to unconfirmed sources, the present search committee “may not have any former chairman. The ministry, in this case, has the ready option of availing the part ‘if available’ because there is a CBI inquiry against the last chairman K.K. Chakravarty, and his predecessor Ashok Vajpeyi.”
Interestingly, though both Chakravarty and Vajpeyi had dismissed the former secretary of the Akademi, Sudhakar Sharma, in their respective terms on charges of corruption and financial bungling, and “noting that his 2005 appointment was illegal”, the ministry dismissed Chakravarty and took over the management of the LKA in April 2015 but reappointed Sharma to the post.
This, in spite of both the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) and the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC), in their reports, seeking the recovery of Rs 90 lakhs which he drew as part of his higher salary from 2003 to 2012 without the ministry’s sanction besides pressing other charges against him.
In June 2016, as per media reports, the ministry sealed the record room of LKA following alleged tampering of proof by Sharma. Room no. 205 contained records related to various inquiries against him, which had led to his earlier suspensions. Sharma was reportedly trying to do it through “an aide” in the LKA by using a duplicate key.
Chairman Chakravarty was reportedly dismissed after he wrote to the president challenging the decision of the ministry to reinstate Sharma.
However, the ministry put Sharma under suspension in January 2017 after the Prime Minister’s Office reportedly took note of “repeated complaints, including over missing artworks of painter M.F. Hussain”. The ministry had to extend his suspension after the Delhi high court, in April 2017, severely criticised it for not proceeding against Sharma in spite of 26 charges pressed on him by both the CAG and CVC. The HC also reportedly called the appointment of an interim administrator an eyewash that allowed Sharma (then) to continue to control the affairs at the Akademi.
The Delhi high court was making those observations as part of a case filed by advocate Mukheswar Nath Dubey seeking directions to the culture ministry and the LKA to implement the recommendations of an autonomous body cell set up by the ministry in June 2016.
The independent committee was formed to look into various allegations of financial and administrative bungling in the LKA and offer corrective measures. Dubey’s advocate Arpit Bhargava told The Wire: “Though the autonomous body cell report was submitted, the government has not done anything to implement it. We seek a direction from the high court to the ministry to implement the corrective measures suggested by the autonomous cell. After all, it is for the better use of public money and better functioning of a centre of national importance. Our plea also includes a direction to the government and LKA to recover the misappropriated funds from the accounts of all the erring officers, including Sudhakar Sharma. The PIL also includes improper use of public money by the last administrator of LKA, C.S. Krishna Setty.”
Though a three-member inquiry committee was set up by the ministry to probe some allegations of misuse of finances against Shetty, it was withdrawn on August 16, 2017. The Delhi high court, during a hearing of the case on August 24, 2017, asked the ministry to explain its action. However, it is yet to do so.
Mahesh Sharma. Credit: PTI
In the last hearing of the case in January, the high court had sought a response from the ministry and LKA on the PIL besides asking the petitioner, Dubey, to make the former and present secretaries, Sudhakar Sharma and Vishalakshmi Nigam respectively, as parties to the matter as the allegations of misappropriating public funds and corruption had been levelled against them as well.
Other charges
Though the independent committee indicted Nigam too, who was then a research officer at the Akademi, she has been promoted by the ministry and holds the crucial post of secretary. In May 2016, Nigam had accused the then administrator and ministry’s additional joint secretary K.K. Mittal of harassing and abusing her and had filed a police complaint at the Tilak Nagar police station in New Delhi.
In a statement issued to the press by Mittal, a copy of which he shared with The Wire then, Mittal said: “She has been putting up the files in a manipulative and misleading way and was found to be responsible for delaying payments to the Government Art Colleges,” adding, “On 4th May, 2016, I reported these misleading and manipulative tactics to the Secretary, Ministry of Culture. As some serious cases are already going on in the Lalit Kala Akademi, perhaps she felt that a case may also be started against her. To protect herself from the disciplinary action, she filed this false and fabricated complaint.”
Following the independent panel’s report, the Centre handed over the case to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). Though minister Mahesh Sharma told parliament last year that the government handed it over in July 2017, the CBI formally took over it in November end that year. Sharma said it would probe “various allegations of irregularities and violation of government guidelines by former LKA chairman K.K. Chakravarty.”
CBI inquiry
Some media reports said it would also probe allegations against Chakravarty’s predecessor Vajpeyi. Though on getting to know of the CBI inquiry, the Delhi HC, in August 2017, refused to give the Centre more time and directed it to complete the CBI inquiry within four weeks, saying it is not a “ten-year plan”, the central investigating agency is still continuing the probe.
Speaking to The Wire, Vajpeyi said, “I was neither called by the internal committee set up by the ministry to inquire the alleged misconduct by me nor has the CBI summoned me so far. I heard about some allegations against me only from the press.”
One allegation against him was was visiting Venice in 2009, two years before India took part in the Venice Biennale. India officially participated in the Biennale for the first time in 2011.“I visited in 2009 because it was the first Biennale after I took over. I went there to check what kind of art is being showcased, whether India can have a pavilion in the prestigious event. I was responsible for making history for Indian art. For the first time in the 100-year history of the Biennale, India officially showcased works by its artistes. After that, three Biennale have taken place in Venice. India didn’t take part in any of them officially.”
Vajpeyi, often credited for turning around Bharat Bhavan in Madhya Pradesh as the centre of Indian arts, said, “It is the time when Modern Indian Art is being recognised world over; many private galleries worldwide are holding major exhibitions featuring Indian art. It is so unfortunate that LKA, the country’s highest body for the arts, can’t claim credit for any of that.”
However, in February, the LKA, under Setty, held in Delhi an “International Kala Mela” featuring those artistes whose works failed to qualify for display at art galleries and “expensive fairs”. Spelling out the intent behind it, Setty then said, “There are more than 10,000 works on display; we have not done any kind of screening. Our aim was just to offer them a platform, and that’s it.”
Referring to the CBI inquiry, advocate Arpit Bhargava said, “We want that CBI not only to look into the earlier allegations but should probe the newer ones too, including the ones made against Setty.”
In the last hearing, the high court told the Centre that there won’t be any stay on the ongoing CBI probe.
The high court has set the next hearing for May 8.
