Auction Of PM Modi’s Gifts For Namami Gange A Hit: 1,800 Items Auctioned, Some Sell For 22 Times Their Base Price

Around 1,800 mementos gifted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi were auctioned on 27 and 28 January at the National Gallery of Modern Art in Delhi to raise funds for Namami Gange programme, reports ANI.

The remaining ones will be auctioned online on the portal “PM Mementos” from Tuesday (29 January) and will last till 31 January.

The collection includes nationally and internationally gifted articles like wall paintings, photographs, crafts, shawls, jackets, statues, sculptures, silver items, and wooden items. Articles with a base price of Rs 1,000 were sold at Rs 22,000 or more in the auction.

Amit Kumar, who bought a memento that had a Gujarati message inscribed in it, saying that he respect Prime Minister Narendra Modi and that buying his mementos was a matter of pride for him. He said that the auction was his way of contributing to Namami Gange.

The director general of the museum, Adwaita Charan Garanayak said that the response for the auction has been positive. “There was a huge rush yesterday; the bidders even bid 15 times more than the value. Apart from the value of the objects, there is an emotional value attached to it as Prime Minister Narendra Modi possesses it. The shawl is the most sought after item among bidders and visitors.” Garanayak was quoted as saying.

He informed that a small statue of Swami Vivekananda was sold for Rs 30,000 after a persistent bidding. All the proceeds of the auction will be donated to the Namami Gange mission.