Gopalkrishna Gandhi quits Kalakshetra, IIAS

CHENNAI: Retired IAS officer Gopalkrishna Gandhi resigned as chairman of Indian Institute of Advanced Study in Shimla and Kalakshetra Foundation in Chennai on Wednesday. His resignation came a day after Prime Minister-designate Narendra Modi was made BJP's parliamentary party leader, and soon after Justice Leila Seth resigned as chairperson, advisory board, National Library in Kolkata.

Confirming his resignation, Gandhi, a former administrator and diplomat, said the move was "in keeping with the convention followed during a change of government". While IIAS was set up by the ministry of education, Kalakshetra Foundation is part of the culture ministry.

Gandhi's resignation comes days after he wrote an open letter in a national daily saying he was among those who did not want to see Modi as PM. In the letter, Gandhi said, "While many millions are ecstatic that you will become Prime Minister, many more millions may, in fact, be disturbed, greatly disturbed by it."

When asked if his resignation was linked to his reservations about Modi, Gandhi was evasive. "This is a routine procedure that is followed when a new government comes in," he said.

But sources in the culture ministry said such resignations aren't routine. Hours after the election results were declared, Seth, citing health reasons, quit the ministry of culture. A number of advisory boards and bodies comprising cultural and intellectual experts are expected to be dissolved once the Narendra Modi-led BJP government takes charge.

"Normally, there is a convention of resigning from posts in bodies and institutions involved in governance like the Planning Commission," said writer and commentator Sadanand Menon. "But in institutions not directly involved in governance, like Sangeet Natak Akademi and Kalakshetra, there's a precedent of the heads being asked to give up their posts to accommodate the new government's favourites. Most of these heads don't want to suffer the ignominy of being asked to resign, so they step down," Menon added.

The heads of several educational and cultural institutes were changed during the Vajpayee government, Menon said. "They were replaced with many who had some sort of allegiance to the BJP. We don't know if the new government will do the same, but there could be a shake-up, which could have a cascading effect," he said.