Union Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday lashed out at Congress over its remarks on Gita Press being awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize and said that the grand old party has always been against Hindus, news agency ANI reported. The decision to bestow the Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press has triggered a war of words between the BJP and the Congress.
Slamming Congress, Union Minister stated: "Books, scriptures or epics printed in the Gita Press are present in all Hindu houses. Congress has always been against Hindus and from time to time, its leaders have exposed that their think tank has been taken over by those who use Hindu religion and scriptures for appeasement and their political agenda."
Earlier on Sunday, Senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh called the decision to award the Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press a "travesty," comparing it to "awarding Savarkar and 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,” Ramesh had tweeted.
In response to Congress's criricism, Senior BJP leader Sudhanshu Trivedi stated: "The kind of undesirable and objectionable comment that the Congress party has made over the awarding of the Gandhi Peace Prize to Gita Press, we condemn it," PTI reported.
He said that the Congress' criticisms are directed not just at Gita Press but also at the Bhagavad Gita itself.
"Congress leaders do not miss any chance to express their contempt for anything associated with this country's traditions, culture, Indianness and Hindu religion. This is their mindset," Trivedi alleged.
According to the BJP leader, Mahatma Gandhi wrote to Gita Press praising its efforts and advising it not to accept ads. "And accepting as principle Gandhi ji's suggestion, Gita Press has neither taken any advertisements so far nor has it expressed its own opinion on any issue… (It) just published literature," Trivedi said.
Following Gandhi's values, Gita Press stated that while it is honoured to receive the Gandhi Peace Prize, it will not take the Rs 1 crore prize money. "The kind of character that the Congress has shown in the Gita Press matter, it is clear proof of its contempt for India, Indianness, Indian culture, Hindu religion and the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi," the BJP leader stated.