'...Unmatched contribution': Amit Shah on conferring Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press

Amid row over Gandhi Peace Prize selection, Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Monday said that India's glorious ancient Sanatan culture and scriptures can be read easily today only because of "unmatched contribution" from Gita Press.The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 was conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur, in recognition of its outstanding contribution towards social, economic and political transformation through non-violent and other Gandhian methods, according to an official statement.Taking to Twitter, Shah said, "If India's glorious ancient Sanatan culture and scriptures can be read easily today, it is due to Gita Press's unmatched contribution...Conferring Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 on Gita Press is an honour of the work being done by it."However, the Congress was not impressed with the decision taken by the jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.Calling the decision a "travesty", Congress MP Jairam Ramesh likened it to awarding Hindutva idologue VD Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi's killer Nathuram Godse."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 wrote on Twitter.Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hit out at the Congress in a strongly worded tweet, saying that the grand old party is "unleashing a war against India's civilisational values and rich legacy"."With the win in Karnataka, Congress has now openly unleashed a war against India's civilisational values and rich legacy, be it in the form of repeal of  anti-conversion law or criticism against Geeta Press. people  of India will resist this aggression and reassert our civilisation values with equal aggression," he tweeted.Meanwhile, Gita Press on Monday said it was a matter of great honour to be conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize, but the publisher would not accept the cash component of the award keeping with its tradition of not receiving any kind of donations.The trustee board of the press met here late on Sunday after the award was announced and decided not to receive the cash component of Rs 1 crore.The publisher thanked Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Union Culture Ministry for conferring the prestigious award on it."It is a matter of great honour for us. It is our principle not to accept any kind of donations, so the trustee board has decided not to take the award in any monetary form. However, we will certainly accept the award for the honour of it," Gita Press manager Lalmani Tripathi said.The Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the government in 1995, on the occasion of 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi as a tribute to the ideals espoused by Mahatma Gandhi.The award is open to all persons regardless of nationality, race, language, caste, creed or gender. The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item, the ministry said.Recent awardees include Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Al Said, Oman (2019) and Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (2020), Bangladesh.With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.