Stamp controversy: One family can’t claim all honours, says Centre

New Delhi: With the NDA government declaring that only one family cannot claim all means of honour, a controversy erupted Wednesday over its move to discontinue postage stamps of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. The Congress called it an “insult to history” demanded an apology from the Centre.

Communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, however, defended the move, saying an advisory committee had suggested replacing the picture of Indira Gandhi with that of yoga on inland letters, but said no final decision had been taken yet.

He said a decision was taken on the advice of the philatelic advisory committee to issue a series of “definitive” stamps in honour of Syama Prasad Mookerjee, Deen Dayal Upadhyay, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Shivaji, Maulana Azad, Bhagat Singh, Jayaprakash Narayan, Ram Manohar Lohia, Swami Vivekananda and Maharana Pratap.

The Congress held a protest at Sanchar Bhavan on Wednesday.

Communications minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said, “In the definitive stamp series, the focus was so far on one family”, while the new series is “inclusive” and seeks to encapsule the contribution of all the leading lights of the freedom movement, including Jawaharlal Nehru.

Defending the decision to drop the stamps on former Prime Ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, the minister said the government believes that whoever has contributed in the making of India should be honoured.

He added that “this right should not belong to only one family”.