2019 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today announced the creation of a 'Gandhipedia' that she said would help propagate "positive Gandhian values". 2019 marks the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

The name, a possible reference to Wikipedia - a free online encyclopedia created and edited by users all around the world - suggests 'Gandhipedia' could be something similar - an online database on the life and work of Mahatma Gandhi, who is fondly referred to as "Father of India".

However, while Ms Sitharaman's announcement drew appreciative thumping on the table from some of the members of parliament, it drew criticism from the Karnataka Congress.

The state unit of the opposition party tagged the finance minister in its tweet and reminded the BJP leader of the controversy surrounding a remark made by her colleague Pragya Singh Thakur, calling her 'Gandhipedia' proposal "height of hypocrisy".

"Height of Hypocrisy! @nsitharaman says that Gandhipedia is being developed to make society aware of Gandhian values, we have @BJP4India MP Sadhvipragya denouncing Gandhian values & endorsing Godse," the tweet read.

Height of Hypocrisy!@nsitharaman says that Gandhipedia is being developed to make society aware of Gandhian values, we have @BJP4India MP Sadhvipragya denouncing Gandhian values & endorsing Godse.



Does the FM has the RSS backing for this or is this just an other announcement? — Karnataka Congress (@INCKarnataka) July 5, 2019

Earlier this year BJP parliamentarian Pragya Singh Thakur was criticised after calling Nathuram Godse, the man who assassinated Gandhi, a "desh bhakt (patriot)".

The 49-year-old lawmaker, who won the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat, was responding to a comment by movie star-turned-politician Kamal Haasan, who said "Godse, the first extremist of independent India, was a Hindu".

Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he could "never be able to forgive" those who insulted Gandhi.