1,200 gifts of PM Modi go under hammer

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's National Cadet Corps (NCC) alumni card, multiple models of the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya and a statue of the mascot of the recently-held Chess Olympiad in Chennai are among the items which are highly sought after at an online auction of mementoes gifted to the PM.

The online auction of over 1,200 such items, including a model statue of Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and sporting memorabilia of the Commonwealth Games, started on Saturday and will be on till October 2. The gifts that are being auctioned are currently displayed at the National Gallery of Modern Art, and the base price of these items ranges from Rs 100 to Rs 10 lakh.

The auction is being conducted through the web portal pmmementos.gov.in and it has one section that lists items under the head 'Most Participated Auction'. Among these sought-after items is a memento given by the NCC in the form of an alumni card displaying Modi's photograph. The alumni card had received over 20 bids till about 11 am on Sunday, September 18.

The auction had gone live at 10 am on Saturday morning, coinciding with Modi's 72nd birthday. Other items in this category include several models of the upcoming Ram temple in Ayodhya, of varying dimensions and weights. One of these models was presented to the Prime Minister by Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath.

Many other religious items, including a metallic shankh (conch), statues of Lord Ganesha, a trident and a replica of the wooden idol of Tirupati Balaji Maharaj, are also in the category of the 'Most Participated Auction'. Tirupati Balaji is an incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

A statue representing the official logo and mascot of the Chess Olympiad in Chennai 2022 is also among the highly sought-after items in the ongoing auction. India recently hosted the FIDE Chess Olympiad in Chennai with much fanfare. Its official logo was a chess knight named Thambi.

A mace, an ornate sword, a metallic statue of Ashok Stambh, and a statue of Nataraja are also in the 'Most Participated Auction' category. A gold-plated miniature sculpture of an elephant with its trunk raised upwards, and a wooden chess board with the 32 chess pieces made out of brass and kept inside a briefcase are also part of the auction.