Executive Council member of Nehru Memorial Museum and Library Pratap Bhanu Mehta has stepped down from his position, allegedly after former bureaucrat Shakti Sinha’s name was shortlisted for the director’s post, reported PTI. During a meeting on Saturday, the academic and head of the Centre for Policy Research raised his objections with the selection process and alleged that the library’s reputation and integrity were being compromised.
The selection panel, headed by Union Minister MJ Akbar, had recommended the names of Sinha and Indira Gandhi National Open University professor Kapil Kumar for the post that has been lying vacant after Mahesh Rangarajan resigned last year. According to PTI, the two names will be sent to the Union Culture Ministry for approval.
According to Wire, only eminent scholars can apply for the post. But authorities allegedly tweaked the required qualifications for the post in an advertisement on July 22 to include administrators also. In his resignation letter, Mehta said that appointing an administrator, who does not have the experience required in the field, sends a very bad signal about the stature of the Nehru Memorial Museum and Library as an institution.
Sinha, who had served as private secretary to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajypayee, is an Indian Administrative Service officer of 1979 batch.
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