New Delhi: Upset over the use of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's picture on KVIC calender, Prime Minister Office (PMO) has sought a clarification from Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on the matter, a report in the Economic Times said.
Earlier, the PMO argued that no permission was sought to use photograph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in the Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) calendar.
According to the report, the prime minister has made his disapproval ‘clear’ on the controversial issue.Also Read: Mahatma Gandhi Has Been Left Out of Khadi Calendar 5 Times: KVIC Chief
Opposition leaders such as Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had criticised the government for the use of PM's portrait on the KVIC calender.
"This is not the first instance of someone walking the extra mile to impress the PM or to show their association with the PM," a top official was quoted as saying by the report.
The official further stated that the use of PM Modi’s picture in advertising campaigns of both Jio and Paytm, a mobile wallet service, was carried without official permission.
BJP ally Shiv Sena had reacted sharply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's photo in the calendar and the diary of Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC).
Shiv Sena MP from South Mumbai Arvind Sawant said he was "extremely pained" over the development.
Former Maharashtra Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Narayan Rane lashed out at the Prime Minister and said people will never forget the move.
"Does he (Modi) think that by putting his pictures next to a charkha will make him a great figure or a 'Mahatma'? He can never rise to Gandhiji's status by doing such things," Rane said.
KVIC Chairman Vinay Kumar Saxena had told CNN-News18 that Bapu was not on the cover of the calender for several years prior to 2017.
"Gandhiji was not on the cover in 1996, 2002, 2005, 2011, 2013, 2016. While few of the calendars and diaries were blank, few of them had pictures of women working on khadi chakra. How can anyone replace father of the nation?" Saxena said.
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