On Gita Press award, Congress' Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury says he was ‘kept in dark’
The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.
Congress MP Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury on Tuesday alleged that he was “kept in the dark” about the Centre's decision to confer the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 on Gita Press - even after being a member of the jury as the leader of the Congress in the Lok Sabha. The Congress leader told Indian Express that he was “not invited to any meeting of the jury” and that he “got to know about Gita Press being selected for the award through the media.”
Also read: Gita Press: All you need to know about the 100-year-old publisher
Notably, as per the Code of Procedure for the Gandhi Peace Prize, the awardee is selected by a five-member jury consisting of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, the leader of the opposition, or the leader of the largest opposition party in the Lok Sabha, and two other eminent personalities.
Hitting out at the Centre, Chowdhury said that it is “nothing but the sheer autocratic attitude of this government, which has been very much explicit and evident in all their actions and reactions,” reported the Indian Express.
On the other hand, the union ministry of Culture denied Chowdhury's allegations, saying that they followed up on him, but the Congress leader did not respond, reported IE citing sources.
Earlier on Monday, senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh also slammed the Centre over its decision on the Gandhi Peace Prize, calling the move a ‘travesty’. “The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 has been conferred on the Gita Press at Gorakhpur which is celebrating its centenary this year. There is a very fine biography from 2015 of this organisation by Akshaya Mukul in which he unearths the stormy relations it had with the Mahatma and the running battles it carried on with him on his political, religious & social agenda. The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse,” he said.
About the award
The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. Instituted by the government in 1995, it is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed, or gender. The award carries a cash prize of ₹1 crore, a citation, a plaque, and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.
