Sonia, NDA trustees out of new IGNCA team

Congress president Sonia Gandhi was dropped while Ratan Tata and film-makers Adoor Gopalakrishnan and Mrinal Sen were appointed as the Government reconstituted the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA) today. Four trustees appointed by the NDA government were also dropped.

Besides Sonia, others excluded as trustees are former PM P.V. Narasimha Rao, president R. Venkatarman, singer-composer Bhupen Hazarika, danseuse Sonal Mansingh and journalist M.V. Kamath, former high commissioner to the UK L.M. Singhvi, academicians Yashpal and Abid Hussain, vocalist Bhimsen Joshi and scientist M.S. Swaminathan. Hazarika, Mansingh, Kamath and Singhvi were NDA appointees.

An official release said all present trustees had been ‘‘retired’’ in ‘‘public interest’’ and eight new members appointed in their place.

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The new IGNCA group includes former foreign secretary Salman Haider, scientist R. Narasimhan and Prof A. Ramachandran. The Union ministers of Urban Development and Information and Broadcasting have been appointed ex-officio trustees.

The previous trustees who retired include Vidya Niwas Mishra, H. Narasimhaiah, artist Anjolie Ela Menon, K.J. Yesudas, V.S. Sarma, K.V. Krishna Bhat and Suryakant Bali. The member-secretary of IGNCA has also retired.