Union Minister questions return of awards by writers
Ravi Shankar Prasad is the current Union Minister holding Communications and Information Technology portfolio. He is a member of BJP and also a MP for Bihar in the Rajya Sabha.
In the current state of affairs, he has put forth a question as to why eminent writers were returning their awards after the Dadri Lynching in Uttar Pradesh and the murder of the author Kalburgi.
He said that the awards were given to them on the basis of their work and even during riots before this (Emergency, Muzzafarnagar) voices were ‘not heard’ and protests like this were not seen.
Writers have felt that the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not done anything for this matter and that be has taken a very weak stance in these issues.
Around 27 Sahitya Akademi Award’s have been returned and Dalip Kaur Tiwana handed over his Padma Shri award.