Kalakshetra in CAG muddle

Apr 29, 2012 |

Age Correspondent

chennai

A cloud of controversy has descended upon Kalakshetra Foundation, founded in the 1930s by Rukmani Devi Arundale, with Comptroller and Auditor General raising questions relating to large financial transactions and a retired dance guru petitioning the Madras high court seeking vigilance probe.

The fallout was that foundation director Leela Samson, the well-known Bharatanatyam performer, has quit.
Accepting her resignation quickly, which sources said followed a stormy session of the foundation’s governing body mid-April, the Union culture ministry (which controls the institution) has asked deputy director Karunaker K. Menon to hold fort until a decision is taken on the successor. Ms Samson is formally handing over charge on Monday, sources said.They said former West Bengal Governor Gopalkrishna Gandhi, known for his uprightness, was aghast at the allegations of irregularities in some financial dealings and appointments in the institution when he presided over the governing body meet as the foundation chairman — he had taken charge only December 2011. His predecessor Justice S. Mohan had written to secretary Abhijit Sengupta in the culture ministry and followed that up with a letter to minister Ambika Soni in mid-2008 complaining about the “financial irregularities”.

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