On Monday, June 19, Congress Statesman Jairam Ramesh took to Twitter and opposed the decision of the jury led by PM Modi, of awarding the Gandhi Peace Prize for the year 2021 to Gita Press, Gorakhpur. In his tweet criticizing the move, Ramesh said, “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 organization 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 and social agenda”.
“The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse”, expressed Jairam Ramesh, taking a jibe at the jury’s decision.
Reacting to the Congress General Secretary’s statement, the BJP said that it is a habit of the Congress to attack Sanatana. Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad expressed, “Will the Congress raise questions on every spiritual organization? Gita Press is popular all across the country, across every home. All of us see Gita Press with respect”.
Madhya Pradesh Home Minister, Narottam Mishra, said, “The largest centre of publishing our Sanatana’s literature is Gita Press. The Congress may have an objection because the publishing house only publishes Gita and Ramayana, this can be their pain”.
