The Union Culture Ministry has appointed journalist Kanchan Gupta the chairperson of the Raja Rammohun Roy Library Foundation till May 2020, weeks after Union Culture and Tourism Minister of State (independent charge) Prahlad Singh Patel was nominated to the post.
On July 3, Mr. Patel had been nominated to the post of chairperson of the foundation, which is headquartered in Kolkata, with effect from May 16, 2019 till the tenure of the foundation. In a notification on July 25, the Ministry partially modified its July 3 notification, nominating Mr. Gupta with immediate effect till May 15, 2020 or till further orders, whichever is earlier.
According to an official of the Culture Ministry, the decision to nominate Mr. Gupta was taken “at a higher level” and did not emanate from the Ministry as it was a political call. A senior Ministry official, however, said the Minister was “too busy” anyway. Mr. Patel declined to comment on the matter.
Earlier association
A senior journalist, Mr. Gupta was associated with the first NDA government, having worked in the PMO of Atal Bihari Vajpayee. As of Monday evening, Mr. Gupta’s name and photograph could be seen on the chairperson’s page on the foundation’s official website.
The foundation, which is an autonomous organisation funded by the Culture Ministry, is the Centre’s nodal agency for supporting public library services and promoting the public library movement in the country.
