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Maneka skips NDA meet, blames Sonia for loss of portfolio
Maneka Gandhi, who was divested of the culture portfolio, on Monday said she was `taken aback` by the Prime Minister`s decision and hinted that her move to investigate into some cultural organisations with which Congress President Sonia Gandhi was associated could have angered her. She also skipped NDA meet, which was called to discuss POTO.
Maneka Gandhi, who was divested of the culture portfolio, on Monday said she was "taken aback" by the Prime Minister's decision and hinted that her move to investigate into some cultural organisations with which Congress President Sonia Gandhi was associated could have angered her. She also skipped NDA meet, which was called to discuss POTO.
Refusing to directly pin the blame on the reasons for her removal with a plain "I don't know", she said adding that crores of rupees were being "wasted" by some of these institutions and it was her job "not to needle but to dig for truth".
"They (an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi) are in the Opposition...but I don't understand how their being needled should worry our Government," she said.
Maneka said the institutions belonged to the country and it was not an individual's money involved in it. "I had started investigations and she (Sonia) may not have liked it." Maneka said she only wanted to ensure that funds given to these institutions, whether headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi or others, were properly utilised.
Precisely for this reason, she had begun investigations and putting intellectuals in these bodies, she said, adding that these included Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Nehru Memorial Trust and Nehru Memorial library.
Nobody dared touch these bodies for years and she wanted to find out how the funds were used, Maneka said, adding that whether in the environment ministry or this ministry, she always worked with honesty.
She said it was the prerogative of the Prime Minister to change the portfolios of ministers. Asked whether the Prime Minister told her that she had taken her job "too seriously" in the culture ministry, Maneka said, "I cannot comment on that. What took place between me and the Prime Minister has to remain confidential."
About her new portfolio of statistics and programme implementation, she said, "It does not have any staff, it does not have any money. Programme implementation and statistics does not even have an office. It never existed as a Ministry. Though it has a secretary, it has always been an appendage of a main ministry."
"I have no idea where to go and what to do," she said. Asked whether there was any "deal" between Sonia Gandhi and the NDA government on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, Maneka Gandhi said it was a political question and she was not aware of anything on that. Bureau Report
"They (an apparent reference to Sonia Gandhi) are in the Opposition...but I don't understand how their being needled should worry our Government," she said.
Maneka said the institutions belonged to the country and it was not an individual's money involved in it. "I had started investigations and she (Sonia) may not have liked it." Maneka said she only wanted to ensure that funds given to these institutions, whether headed by Congress President Sonia Gandhi or others, were properly utilised.
Precisely for this reason, she had begun investigations and putting intellectuals in these bodies, she said, adding that these included Indira Gandhi National Centre for Arts, Nehru Memorial Trust and Nehru Memorial library.
Nobody dared touch these bodies for years and she wanted to find out how the funds were used, Maneka said, adding that whether in the environment ministry or this ministry, she always worked with honesty.
She said it was the prerogative of the Prime Minister to change the portfolios of ministers. Asked whether the Prime Minister told her that she had taken her job "too seriously" in the culture ministry, Maneka said, "I cannot comment on that. What took place between me and the Prime Minister has to remain confidential."
About her new portfolio of statistics and programme implementation, she said, "It does not have any staff, it does not have any money. Programme implementation and statistics does not even have an office. It never existed as a Ministry. Though it has a secretary, it has always been an appendage of a main ministry."
"I have no idea where to go and what to do," she said. Asked whether there was any "deal" between Sonia Gandhi and the NDA government on the Prevention of Terrorism Ordinance, Maneka Gandhi said it was a political question and she was not aware of anything on that. Bureau Report