Opposition leader Ajit Pawar has slammed the state government for scrapping an award that was given to a translated version of left-wing leader Kobad Ghandy’s autobiography. He said it was akin to an undeclared emergency and it was wrong for the government to intervene in the world of literature.

Anagha Lele has translated Ghandy’s personal account—Fractured Freedom: A Prison Memoir—into Marathi. The book was selected for an award by the state literature committee which was also scrapped after the declaration was made and invited criticism from a particular section.