The Gita Press in Gorakhpur has refused to accept Rs one crore cash reward for the Gandhi Peace Award.

It said that it would only accept the citation and not the cash prize.

The jury headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi had unanimously selected Gita Press as the recipient of the award.

The announcement of the Gandhi Peace Award was made on Sunday. The prize includes a reward of Rs one crore, a certificate of appreciation and a plaque.

Refusing to accept the honorarium, Gita Press in a statement suggested the government should spend the money elsewhere. Gita Press said it would only accept a certificate of appreciation.

The decision to award the Gita Press did not go down well with the Congress. Party leader Jairam Ramesh criticized the move, and called the selection of Gita Press for the award a "travesty".

He also said that giving the Gandhi Peace Prize 2021 to Gita Press, would be like "awarding Savarkar and Godse". He argued that Akshaya Mukul, an author, had written a biography titled 'Gita Press and the Making of Hindu India'. Ramesh said the book talks about Mukul's "stormy" relations with Mahatma Gandhi.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Gita Press for winning the prize and commended its contribution to the field.

Gita Press, based in Uttar Pradesh's Gorakhpur, is one of the world's largest publishers, having published 41.7 crore books in 14 languages, including 16.21 crore Shrimad Bhagavad Gita, an official statement said. (IANS/NS)