Award Wapsi: Senior scribe refuses to accept award from PM Narendra Modi

Senior journalist Akshaya Mukul has reportedly refused to accept the Ramnath Goenka Award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday.

New Delhi, Nov 3: It's the turn of journalists to hog the limelight, for a change.

First, on Tuesday, came the news about popular television anchor Arnab Goswami's decision to quit TimesNow, which surely stunned us all.

A day later, on Wednesday, another scribe created headlines.

According to a report published by the Catch, senior journalist Akshaya Mukul has reportedly refused to accept the Ramnath Goenka Award from Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Mukul, who works for the Times of India, said, "I am extremely honoured to get the award. But I have problem in receiving the award from Modi."

Mukul, who was conspicuous by his absence at the gala event on Wednesday, hosted to honour excellence in journalism, got the award for his critically-acclaimed book--Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India.

Speaking to The Caravan, Mukul said, "I cannot live with the idea of Modi and me in the same frame, smiling at the camera even as he hands over the award to me."

Speaking at the award function on Wednesday, Prime Minister Modi said credibility is the biggest challenge for media in the age of technology and it is important for media establishments to maintain it.

Last year, the same award function courted controversy, after Bollywood star Aamir Khan, who attended the event, aired his opinion on the rise in cases of "intolerance" in the country.

The Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards was instituted by the Ramnath Goenka Foundation in 2005 to celebrate the legacy of the founder of The Indian Express Group. Its categories cover investigative, political and sports journalism, non-fiction writing, feature writing, sports and entertainment, commentary and work done in regional languages.

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