Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press triggers Cong, BJP war of words

Criticising the decision, Congress general secretary-in-charge of communications Jairam Ramesh said it was “like awarding Savarkar and Godse”. Sharing the cover of a book written by independent researcher Akshaya Mukul — Gita Press And The Making of Hindu India — he tweeted: “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 and social agenda.” “The decision is really a travesty and is like awarding Savarkar and Godse,” he said.

Reacting to Ramesh’s tweet, Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma accused the Congress of “unleashing a war against India’s civilisational values”. Lauding Gita Press for “playing a significant role in spreading the message of Sanatana Dharma”, Sarma warned Congress: “With the win in Karnataka, Congress has now 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 Gita Press. People of India will resist this and reassert our civilisation values with equal aggression.”

On Ramesh’s remark, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said, “And, who are those levelling allegations? They are those who say that Muslim League was secular. The Congress forgot that it was the Muslim League which gave the two-nation theory, got India divided and took credit for the creation of Pakistan.”

“Getting into such debates is a sheer of waste of energy,” Singh said at a press conference at the BJP headquarters here. He was referring to Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s remarks that “Muslim League is a completely secular party”.