Maharashtra govt to spend Rs 4.5 crore to procure Deendayal Upadhyaya's works to mark birth centenary

Mumbai: The Maharashtra government is going to spend Rs 4.5 crore to procure 10,000 copies of works of Jana Sangh founder Deendayal Upadhyaya which would be distributed to over 400 libraries in the state. A government resolution said this was being done as a part of celebration of Upadhyaya’s birth centenary year. The Centre is celebrating Upadhyaya’s birth centenary year as ‘Garib Kalyan Varsh’. “His life’s work encapsulated in books can be a major source of inspiration for the poor youth in rural areas,” an official said. [caption id=“attachment_3669037” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi paying tributes to Deendayal Upadhyaya. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] A total of 10,000 copies of his books will be purchased at a price of Rs 4,500 each, at a 30 per cent discount, from the publisher, and will be distributed to over 400 public and aided libraries across Maharashtra, it added. Opposition Congress has objected to the expenditure. Congress spokesperson Sachin Sawant said the BJP should bear the cost and not the government. “The chief minister should tell Maharashtra who is this person on whom the government is spending such a huge amount of money,” Sawant said. “The BJP is celebrating his (Upadhyaya’s) birth centenary. So the party should bear the cost,” he said. Sawant also questioned Upadhyaya’s contribution to the freedom movement, and his views about the minority communities.