‘Min’s man pressured us to withdraw Sahgal invite’

Nagpur: The controversy surrounding 92nd Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan at Yavatmal, that concluded on Sunday, took a fresh twist with former president of the Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal, Shripad Bhalchandra Joshi insisting it was due to anti-Nayantara Sahgal posturing of Swagatadhyaksha of sammelan that invitation to Sahgal was withdrawn. Swagatadhyaksha, or chairman of reception committee, is none other than BJP MLA from Yavatmal and district’s guardian minister Madan Yerawar.
Joshi, who quit as Mahamandal president after the controversy erupted, said the local organizing committee of Sammelan succumbed to pressures by those close to Yerawar. “It was Yerawar’s close aide Amar Dinkar along with Ramakant Kolte, working president of the Sammelan, who met the president of Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh, Manohar Mhaisalkar at Nagpur in early January and said, ‘Sahebane ashe sangitle ahe ki Sahgal chalnar nahi. Ti zar yet asel tar mi yenar nahi. Sammelan ayojana tun ang kadhun ghein.” (Saheb (Yerawar) has conveyed that Sahgal won't do. If she is coming and I won't be there. I will withdraw from organizing the meet.)

“The choice was clear. The sammelan could take place without Sahgal but could not have taken place if the head of the welcome committee, who was also contributing up to Rs 1.5 crore to the kitty, had withdrawn,” Joshi says.

While speaking to TOI on Jan 9, Madan Yerawar had denied any role in withdrawal of invitation to Sahgal. “As the member of welcoming committee, my work is only to see all facilities and infrastructure are in place. I was never concerned with who is being invited or has been uninvited.”

The office of the chief minister too had denied the current government had in any way interfered with the happenings at the sammelan while education minister Vinod Tawde had stated at the inaugural event that the controversy had caused embarrassment to his government.

What is now being viewed as an oversight, but later become the cause of controversy is that the local organizing committee had not informed Yerawar, president of the reception committee, about their selection of Sahgal as inaugurator.

When the word reached Yerawar about Sahgal and who she was (an author in the forefront of award wapsi), controversies began to brew. The invitation always goes in the name of swagatadhyakasha, but for the first time it was sent by working president Ramakant Kolte, who is also president of the Dr V B Kolte Sanshodhan Kendra ani Vachnalay which along with VSS organized the sammelan at Yavatmal.

The local organizing committee had officially cited threats by a local Shetkari Sanghatana and a local MNS leader as the reason for not calling Sahgal. “After the apology by Raj Thackeray, MNS threat did not exist. Local farm activist Devanand Pawar too had said he did not oppose Sahgal. So the only threat was from the swagatadhyaksha,” Joshi says.

Joshi says when he learnt about the misgivings of minister about Sahgal he offered to meet him personally. “I told Kolte and Dinkar let me explain to the minister that withdrawing the name would create huge controversy. But the local organizers did not reply and also did not organize my meeting as the Mahamandal president with swagatadhyakasha,” he says. “I called them on Jan 4 for a follow up on my request to meet the minister but they made excuses and came to Nagpur to meet VSS president on Jan 6 with their request to withdraw Sahgal’s name,” he says.

“The possibility of asking Sahgal to decline the invite citing health reasons was also considered by the president of VSS. “She is 92 years old and reaching Yavatmal from Dehradun is quite an effort in this winter season. Had she declined, the issue would have been resolved with dignity and we were trying to get in touch with people who could approach her with this request,” Joshi says. “But the local organizing committee was in such a hurry to withdraw the invitation and appease Yerawar they instantly dispatched the letter,” Joshi says.

To the insinuation that it was the president of the Mahamandal who wrote the letter for withdrawal, Joshi who is also the vice-president of VSS, says, “I drafted the letter on request of the VSS president so it is rightly worded and does not hurt her. It was just a draft, the letter was written by Kolte.”