The issue recently found prominence during the BRICS Culture Ministers’ meeting in Bhopal, which kicked off on August 5. Union Culture Secretary Vivek Aggarwal said the Centre began pursuing the idol’s repatriation nearly a year before the Madhya Pradesh HC directed the government in May to make efforts to secure its return. “When I joined as Culture Secretary, my batchmate wrote to me, around a year ago, asking that the repatriation process for the Vagdevi idol be initiated. We wrote to the museum (in the UK) where the idol is currently housed. We are making constant efforts to ensure the idol is brought back to Madhya Pradesh,” Aggarwal said on Wednesday.