Auction of mementos gifted to PM: Rs 5 lakh each for painting of Modi, a wooden bike

A painting of Narendra Modi at a railway station holding a bag with a reserve price of Rs 50,000, and a wooden bike with a base price of Rs 40,000 were sold at Rs 5 lakh each, becoming the highest bids during the two-day physical auction of the gifts received by the prime minister, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said Monday.

The last day of the physical auction was on Monday, during which 270 of the the 1,900 items were sold, while e-auction of the remaining gifts will begin on the portal www.pmmementos.gov.in Tuesday and will continue till January 31, he said.

After the e-auction ends, the total amount raised will be used for 'Namami Gange', a Central government project to clean the Ganga river.

"People have shown tremendous enthusiasm for the auction. Imagine a wooden bike with a reserve price of Rs 40,000 has been sold for Rs 5 lakh and a memento of the Golden Temple with a reserve price of Rs 10,000 has been sold for Rs 3.5 lakh," Sharma said.

"E-auction will start from tomorrow in which a wide variety of people even internationally can participate. I am sure the philanthropic thought of the prime minister to dedicate the money raised to Namami Gange will inspire more people to do the same."