All the gifts received by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on different occasions will be auctioned again. This time the auction is being held on his birthday. From sports shoes and other belongings of Paralympic medalists to a replica of the Ram temple and even a silver veena, everything will be auctioned.
In response, Culture Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat said on Monday that the reserve price of all items will be decided jointly, the news agency reported. Shekhawat visited an exhibition of the prime minister’s memorabilia at the National Gallery of Modern Art here.
Later, while addressing a press conference, he said the reserve price for auctioning these gifts was fixed by a government committee and the price range was from a minimum of Rs 600 to Rs 8.26 lakh.
Use auction proceeds to clean up Ganges
“Our Prime Minister has started a new culture of auctioning off all the souvenirs and gifts he receives. He used to do this even when he was the Chief Minister,” Shekhawat said. “The gifts they received will be given back to the people through auction and the money earned from it will be used for a noble cause – cleaning the Ganga,” the minister said.
This is the sixth auction held
He revealed that this is the sixth time such auction has been held and the proceeds from the auction will be donated to the National Ganga Fund. The auction will include about 600 items gifted to Prime Minister Modi in the past year.
The most expensive souvenirs included sports shoes of Paralympic bronze medallists Ajit Singh and Simran Sharma and silver medallist Nishad Kumar, and a signed cap of silver medallist Sharad Kumar – all worth about Rs 2.86 lakh.
Gift auction starts at Rs 600
High-end souvenirs such as the Ram temple model priced at Rs 5.5 lakh, the peacock statue priced at Rs 3.3 lakh, the Ram Darbar statue priced at Rs 2.76 lakh, and the silver veena statue priced at Rs 1.65 lakh are included. The cheapest souvenirs include cotton angvastrams, caps and shawls priced at Rs 600. The auction will begin on September 17, Prime Minister Modi’s birthday.
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