60 artistes meet Kalam, seek ouster of Sonal Mansingh

<div class="section0"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-size:="">NEW DELHI: Continuing with their demand for the removal of Sangeet Natak Akademi (SNA) chairperson Sonal Mansingh, 60 noted artistes met President A P J Abdul Kalam on Thursday with a memorandum. Known for her proximity to the previous dispensation, the noted Odissi dancer is accused of running the organisation autocratically.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Furious with Mansingh''s attitude are the virtual who''s who of the country''s performing arts, ranging from SNA vice-chairperson and theatre doyen K N Pannikar to master Carnatic vocalist Balamurali Krishna.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">But Mansingh terms these allegations as "pack of lies and canards" by few to fulfill their desires.She claims her working has been transparent and has done good to the SNA. According to her, artistes have gained during her tenure. The signatories to the memorandum against her include dancers Raja and Radha Reddy, theatre director M K Raina and dance critic Shanta Serbjeet Singh.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">Three of the five government nominees to the SNA - Pannikar, Balamurali Krishna and Savitri Heisnam - have already quit its board demanding her removal. What added to protests against her is the allegation that Mansingh campaigned for Narendra Modi during the 2002 Gujarat elections.</span><br /><br /><span style="" font-size:="">But Mansingh denies campaigning for Modi. "This is an era of making allegations without any proof. There is nothing to prove that I campaigned for Modi. If I go anywhere, I will not deny it," she says.</span></div> </div>