Government to issue commemorative stamp on BJP leader Yogi Avaidyanath

NEW DELHI: A commemorative stamp in memory of Ram Janmabhoomi crusader and BJP leader Yogi Avaidyanath will be issued by the government on Thursday, days after a controversy over discontinuation of postal stamps of Indira and Rajiv Gandhi.

"A commemorative stamp will be issued in memory of Mahant Avaidyanath by Union Communications Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad on October 1 at the Math in Gorakhpur (UP)," BJP MP Yogi Adityanath told PTI.

Avaidyanath, a former MLA and MP who headed Gorakhnath Math in Gorakhpur, was the 'spiritual' father of Adityanath who is the current head of the Math.

Avaidyanath had died in September last year.

The move comes days after a row erupted after government decided to discontinue the postal stamps on former Prime Ministers Indira and Rajiv Gandhi, saying only one family cannot get this honour.

Congress had termed the move as "insult to the history" and demanded an apology.

Government sources, however, today said the stamp on Avaidyanath is commemorative in nature and not definitive as were those on Indira and Rajiv Gandhi and thus have nothing to do with the controversy.

Definitive stamps are regular-issue stamps and are used in everyday post and used for long periods of time, while a commemorative stamp is issued to honor an important person, event, or anniversary and is printed in smaller quantities than definitives and sold for a limited time.