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Regular-article-logo Thursday, 25 April 2024

1800 gifts to PM Narendra Modi auctioned

The proceeds will go towards Namami Gange, the project to clean the Ganga

PTI New Delhi Published 10.02.19, 09:27 PM
A visitor at the auction of mementos, presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi on January 27.

A visitor at the auction of mementos, presented to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, at the National Gallery of Modern Art in New Delhi on January 27. (PTI)

Over 1,800 mementos that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had received were sold at a fortnight-long auction that began last month, the Prime Minister’s Office said on Sunday.

It remains unclear how much funds were generated through the auction, whose proceeds will go towards the Namami Gange, a central government project to clean the Ganga.

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During the auction at the National Gallery of Modern Art, a specially handcrafted wooden bike received a successful bid of Rs 5 lakh. A similar bid was received for a painting that shows Modi on a railway platform.

Among the other big-ticket sales was that of a Shiva statuette, which had a base price of Rs 5,000 but sold for Rs 10 lakh, the PMO statement said.

A wooden replica of the Ashoka Pillar, with a base price of Rs 4,000, fetched Rs 13 lakh while a traditional horai — an offering tray with a stand — from Majuli, Assam, brought Rs 12 lakh against a base price of Rs 2,000. A statuette of the Buddha, which had a base price of Rs 4,000, sold for Rs 7 lakh.

“Prime Minister Modi, even as chief minister of Gujarat, used to auction mementos received by him so that the proceeds could go (towards) the education of girl children,” the statement said.

“Continuing the same practice, he has now enabled the collection of funds which will help clean up the holy river Ganga.”

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