Gita Press to Get Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021, Congress Slams Govt Move

New Delhi: Gita Press from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur has been selected for the Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021.

Gandhi Peace Prize is an annual award instituted by the Government of India in 1995, on the occasion of the 125th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. The award carries an amount of Rs 1 crore, a citation, a plaque and an exquisite traditional handicraft/handloom item.

Gita Press is celebrating its centenary this year.

Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Monday slammed the Centre for awarding The Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 to the Gita Press. He likened this decision by a jury headed by PM Modi to awarding Hindutva idologue VD Savarkar and Mahatma Gandhi’s killer Nathuram Godse.

Jairam Ramesh also referred to a 2015 book on Gita Press authored by journalist Akshaya Mukul, claiming it unearths the “stormy relations” the publisher had with the Mahatma.

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… pic.twitter.com/PqoOXa90e6

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) June 18, 2023

PM Modi in his tweet however said praised publisher of Gita Press by saying “I congratulate Gita Press, Gorakhpur on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. They have done commendable work over the last 100 years towards furthering social and cultural transformations among the people.”

I congratulate Gita Press, Gorakhpur on being conferred the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021. They have done commendable work over the last 100 years towards furthering social and cultural transformations among the people. @GitaPress https://t.co/B9DmkE9AvS

— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) June 18, 2023