Mumbai: Mahatma Gandhi’s great-grandson, Tushar Gandhi, asked why Gandhiji’s death anniversary is missing from the Maharashtra government’s circular that is sent out to mark Martyrs’ Day on January 30. This comes after allegations that the Mahatma's picture went missing from the annual diary of the calendar of the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) and was replaced with that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Mr Gandhi has expressed his displeasure against the Maharashtra government on Twitter for not mentioning the name of the Father of the Nation in its circular regarding a two-minute silence that is to be observed on his death anniversary on Monday. It may be mentioned here that January 30 was chosen as Martyrs’ Day as it marks the assassination of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi in 1948.
Mr Gandhi, in a couple of tweets, articulated his annoyance over the matter, and tweeted “Maharashtra Govt. circular regarding 2 min silence tomorrow, does not mention Gandhi Punyatithee. I’to pay homage to martyrs of freedom movement' (sic).”
Explaining his tweet, Mr Gandhi told The Asian Age on Sunday, “Actually this (Martyrs’ Day) is a tribute to Bapu. It (the tweet) was amused reaction to that circular. I was amazed that on commemoration day there was nothing mentioned about Bapu.” Elaborating, he said, “Earlier, silence was observed in the evening as Bapu was martyred in the evening but people had to leave for their homes, so the time was kept in the morning.” “So far yet I have not got any reaction from the government on this,” Mr Gandhi said. Mr Gandhi is the son of Arun Manilal Gandhi. He had led the 75th anniversary re-enactment of the Dandi March in March 2005. Repeated attempts to contact chief minister Devendra Fadnavis over the issue got no response.
