Government Glare On Khadi Commission Over PM Narendra Modi's Photo On Calendar

New Delhi: The government has made it clear to Khadi and Village Industries Commission (KVIC) that it should approach the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) through the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) Ministry for approval before publishing the photographs of the Prime Minister.

A memorandum in this regard was sent to KVIC over a month after the photograph of PM Narendra Modi in the its diary and calendar triggered an uproar.              

The memo has debunked the claims made by the organization's top officials that it had sought the PMO's clearance before replacing Mahatma Gandhi's photograph with PM Modi's in its 2017 wall calendar and diary.

The detailed memorandum issued by the MSME ministry outlines, "issue pertaining to publishing the photographs of the PM in the diary and calendar of KVIC has raised the following points which need to be followed by KVIC in the future."

According to the guidelines, "the KVIC has to send proposals for approval of PMO through the MSME ministry, which is the administrative body of KVIC."
Moreover, KVIC has to ensure that the office of minister/secretary is kept informed of any such major event/activity, which is undertaken by the organization as a part of its promotional activity.

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The ministry has also stressed upon the use of only official email ids for correspondence purposes and not private email ids, saying the necessary instructions in this regard may be issued to the officers concerned to scrupulously follow the same.

KVIC Chairman VK Saxena refused to comment on the issue, when contacted.  

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Mr Saxena had earlier said there was "no rule or tradition" that only Mahatma Gandhi's picture can be published on these items.

The explanation came amid protests from various sections of the society, especially from Gandhians and from opposition political parties, who alleged that KVIC was trying to "replace" Mahatma Gandhi with PM Modi through such acts.