Social crusader Anna Hazare has opposed the auction of Mahatma Gandhi's belongings to be held in Shrophshire, U.K. on Tuesday.
A blade of grass with a drop of Gandhiji's blood and soil from the place where he was assassinated in 1948 are set to go under the hammer along with a pair of steel-rimmed spectacles, letters written by him and a charkha .
“Gandhiji's belongings are going to be auctioned. This is not right. I request the President and the Prime Minister to stop the auction, and bring back the belongings to the country,” Mr. Hazare told journalists in his hometown Ralegan Siddhi on Monday.
His opposition comes after Padma Shri-winning writer Giriraj Kishore wrote to him, asking for his support to stop the auction. Mr. Kishore had earlier threatened to return his Padma Shri if his demand was not heeded.
The rarest item in the auction, organised by Mullock's, is said to be the soil and grass, originally belonging to P.P. Nambiar, a retired Army officer from Kerala who was present when Gandhiji was assassinated on January 30, 1948.
