NEW DELHI: With the Indian government stepping in by assisting an Indian businessmen bid on their behalf, the country managed to procure five personal articles of Mahatma Gandhi at the auction in New York.
As the government could not bid directly because of a stay order on the auction by a Delhi court, it used the services of industrialist Vijay Mallya. The memorabilia were bought through the “services” of Mallya, whose representative was “in touch” with the Indian consulate in New York, Culture Minister Ambika Soni said yesterday at a press conference.
The priceless items were acquired through “close cooperation” between her department and Ministry of External Affairs, Soni said.
Dismissing allegations that the Indian government had delayed in taking action on the auction of Gandhi’s belongings, Soni said: “There might be a delay in getting back these items but we have not been caught napping. We were trying.”
Soni said: “He (Gandhi) might have had in the past gifted some of his personal belonging to any individual. So it is an impossible task for us to have an inventory of all those items. We have also told our ambassadors to keep a track in their respective countries whether anybody has anything relating to Bapu.”
She added, “Our missions over the last 2-3 years had kept an eye on whether anyone had anything authentic (items) of Mahatma Gandhi. We have also formed a panel consisting of eminent Gandhians headed by Tara Bhattacharya in which Nirmala Deshpande is also a member.”
The government had deliberately not revealed Mallya’s name earlier to prevent the bid turning into a price war, Soni replied when questioned on this. Without giving details, Soni said that the government had allocated $1.8 million for the auction. Mallya’s representative in New York bought Gandhi’s belongings for $1.8 million.
India is still hopeful of getting Gandhi’s belongings free of cost. Before the auctioned items are handed over to Mallya, India is banking on presenting a water-tight legal case on Gandhi’s will. If Gandhi’s will is honored in totality, the auction held on his belongings would be declared illegal. India would then procure Gandhi’s belongings by law, without making any payment.
