Mumbai: Politicians gang up to oust Dr Bhau Daji Lad museum chief

The BMC unanimously cleared the proposal to oust the current management of the Dr Bhau Daji Lad museum under Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, to gain control of the museum's functioning

It was less than three weeks ago that the Dr Bhau Daji Lad museum in Byculla had received a rude shock when the Lakme Fashion Week grand finale had to be abruptly shifted elsewhere after alleged threats from an MNS leader. It now looks as though political pressure may rock the boat yet again, as the BMC yesterday unanimously cleared a proposal to unseat the museum’s current management.

Also read: Lakme Fashion Week finale shifted abruptly after MNS threat

Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, managing trustee and honorary director, Bhau Daji Lad museum

Some said hosting a fashion event of an international scale could have boosted the museum’s popularity, but an MNS member objected to it saying the museum was not supposed to host any commercial events. The museum’s managing trustee and honorary director, Tasneem Zakaria Mehta, had said this was the political party’s attempt at moral policing (‘Fashion week finale shifted abruptly after MNS threat’, mid-day, March 23).

mid-day’s report on March 23

Now, however, all parties have united against Mehta and seem intent on removing her, even putting her on six months’ notice on Friday. Bringing up the fashion week controversy again and giving her party credit for stopping the show, Mayor Snehal Ambekar who is also chairman of the museum trust said, “They were holding a fashion show at the museum. It was only after Shiv Sena protested that the show was called off. Post that, I asked for documents from the museum’s trust and there were irregularities.”

Criticism
The Mayor wasn’t the only one to criticise the way the museum was being run. Group leader of Samajwadi Party, Rais Shaikh, alleged, “There’s no book of accounts at the museum. We aren’t apprised about meetings that are supposed to be held there on a monthly basis.”

MNS group leader, Sandeep Deshpande, who presented the proposal to oust Mehta, said she was autocratic in her approach and had made many political statements regarding the expansion of the museum. Deshpande was referring to the time when the museum was to replace a playground with its new wing. Amidst protests by the MNS, Mehta had supported the plans.

“She had said that people who were opposed to the the expansion of the museum do not understand what culture is. What culture does she intend to show? Our culture is Bharatnatyam, Kuchipudi, Lavni and Kathak; this is what we should be showing to the foreigners, not the culture that these people talk about,” said Deshpande.

Even before the proposal came up in the house, group leaders of all political parties met the Mayor and Municipal Commissioner Sitaram Kunte to discuss their gripes about Mehta and her style of running the museum. Later, the proposal was passed in the house within seconds, without objection from any quarter.

“Today, in the BMC, we passed a proposal to revoke the agreement signed between the BMC, Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation and Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage (INTACH) for 17 years, starting January 2003,” said Dehspande, adding, “However, we gave them a notice period of six months because we didn’t want the museum to be left without any care.

In these six months, we will come up with rules and regulations so that we can either enter into another agreement for the museum’s management or it is possible that the BMC may take care of the museum itself.”Sena corporator Avkash Jadhav was of the opinion that the corporation could have lost control of the museum.

“There is a need for a more proactive role by the Mayor and the corporation. The BMC will appoint a professional who has done a museology course to run the museum,” he said, adding that a committee would be set up under the Mayor to formulate guidelines for the future. As of now, the proposal is still pending commissioner Kunte’s approval, though corporators said he had already given them the green signal in advance.

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