Congress leader Anand Sharma said earlier the government "brought critics of the first Prime Minister on the Nehru Memorial Society. Now, it has done so for Indira Gandhi." (File photo)
Congress today accused the Modi government of playing a "cruel joke" on the legacy of Indira Gandhi by bringing detractors of her policies in the reconstituted management of Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (IGNCA).
Reacting to the reconstitution of the management of IGNCA with veteran Hindi journalist Ram Bahadur Rai appointed as its head in place of former diplomat Chinmaya Gharekhan, senior Congress spokesperson Anand Sharma said, "It reflects the mindset of the Modi dispensation. It is a cruel joke."
He said earlier the government "brought critics of the first Prime Minister on the Nehru Memorial Society. Now, it has done so for Indira Gandhi."
Mr Sharma told reporters that the development was not surprising given the fact that the government believed in "politics of confrontation" and is influenced by a "narrow" ideology and pursued a "divisive and diabolical" agenda.
Targeting Narendra Modi, he said the Prime Minister only talks of taking everyone along, but does not practice it.
IGNCA, considered a Congress legacy, was established in 1987 when Rajiv Gandhi was the prime minister as a centre for research, academic pursuit and dissemination in the field of arts. Mr Gharekhan was appointed during the UPA-I rule.
Besides Mr Rai, the Board comprises 19 other members, including classical dancers Sonal Mansingh and Padma Subrahmaniam, lyricist Prasoon Joshi and artist Vasudeo Kamath.