BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra said an "unnecessary controversy has been created over an issue which is non-issue" as he claimed that Gandhi's photographs were not used in KVIC's calendars and diaries in 1996, 2002, '05, '11, '12 and '13.
"This is false," he told reporters in reaction to reports and the opposition's claims that Modi had replaced Gandhi's pictures. There is no rule in KVIC that says only Gandhi's photograph should be used, he said.
"The Prime Minister promoted Gandhi's philosophies and these are reaching every household... There is one party which ruled for years in Gandhi's name. They keep calling themselves Gandhis though they had no link with Mahatma Gandhi," he said.
The sale of khadi through KVIC, a government body tasked with its promotion, was merely 2 to 7 per cent all these years but Modi's efforts took it over 35 per cent, he said.
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