Pune Congress chief objects to Tilak award for Prime Minister

Pune: The Congress Pune city chief Arvind Shinde has objected to the 'Lokmanya Tilak National Award' being given to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on August 1 . The award has been instituted by freedom fighter Tilak’s family. Shinde said, “The Tilak family runs the trust which follows the Congress ideology. The trustee is a member of the state Congress committee and has contested the election on a Congress ticket. It should not give awards to someone who is an ideological opponent of our party. I have expressed my unhappiness about the award ceremony to the state leadership.” A statement from the trust said Modi will receive a memento and a citation in recognition of his leadership. “PM Modi awakened the feeling of patriotism among citizens and put India on the global map. Considering his perseverance and efforts, and highlighting his work, the trustees of the Tilak Smarak Mandir Trust have unanimously selected him for this award,” the release added. TNN