With the e-auction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s mementos entering its last week, the items gifted to the PM by this year’s Olympic medallists remain the top picks.
On the block at the virtual auction – to continue till October 7 — are 1,340 items, which include the T-shirt worn by Avani Lakhera (with a base price of Rs 15 lakh), a stole with the signatures of the Olympians (base price of Rs 90 lakh), the fence used by Bhavani Devi, Rakshak Brand hockey sticks used by the Women and Men Hockey teams, and an autographed badminton racket used by P V Sindhu.
The javelins used by gold medallist Neeraj Chopra and paralympic gold medallist Sumit Antil have received highest bids so far —Rs 1,00,10,000 and Rs 1,00,01,000, respectively — though the offerings have not been much higher from their base price of Rs 1 crore each.
After the auction ends, the ministry will notify the highest bidders through email and items will be dispatched to them after payment. The proceeds from the e-auction will go towards the Namami Gange Mission.
The memorabilia also include a replica of the Ayodhya Ram Mandir presented to the PM by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, a wooden replica of the Chardham presented by Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, a replica of the Rudraksha Convention Centre in Varanasi, and a memento of the Victory Flame presented to the Prime Minister by General Bipin Rawat, celebrating 20 years of the Kargil War.
Union Minister of State Prahlad Singh Patel visited the National Gallery of Modern Art on Thursday “to review the third round of e-auction”. Patel said the auction provides an opportunity to the general public to not only possess an invaluable memorabilia gifted to the PM but also to contribute to the cause of preserving the Ganga.