Auction issue: Gandhian upset over no response from PM

Kanpur, Apr 14: Noted Gandhian writer and Padmashree awardee Giriraj Kishore, who had written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh seeking a stop to auction of soil and other stuff stained with Mahatma Gandhi's blood in United Kingdom, has expressed anguish over not getting any response from him.

The upset Gandhian, who had written to the PM on April 10, has now approached the President, seeking her intervention into the issue. In his letter to President Pratibha Patil, Kishore has threatened to return his Padmashree if steps were not initiated immediately in this regard.

"I was forced to approach the President after not getting any reply from the PM in the past 10 days. I have requested her to take my Padmashree award back if the government fails to stop auction of things related to Gandhiji," Kishore said.

He also vowed to start a 'satyagraha' to press for his demands. The Gandhian was conferred with Padma Shree in 2007 for his notable work in the field of literature and education. He had chronicled Gandhiji's struggles in South Africa in his book 'Pahla Girmitiya (The First Indentured Labour)'.

PTI