)
The controversy over the awarding of the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award, has peaked with political parties across the board having alleged politicisation of the awards and questioned the arbitrary manner of selection of awardees.
Cricketing legend Sachin Tendulkar and scientists C N R Rao were conferred the Bharat Ratna on Saturday. While the Opposition BJP has demanded that former Prime Minister and BJP patriarch Atal Bihari Vajpayee be awarded, other political parties including the JD (U) have alleged “discrimination” of deserving candidates from non-Congress ideology such as the late Chaudhary Charan Singh, the ‘kisan neta’.
Interestingly, the JDU pointedly said that it asked for a Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee even before the BJP, Vajpayee's own party, voiced the demand, clearly a dig at Narendra Modi.
CPM leader Mohammad Salim today accused the Centre “haste” in awarding Bharat Ratna to Tendulkar.
Bharat Ratna awardees are entitled to several privileges which includes free air travel on both domestic routes and international travel; they figure above Cabinet ministers in list of protocol; they are treated as state guests wherever they travel with accommodation and transport being borne by the state.
While the Congress led UPA has been tightlipped on the controversy and party spokespersons have urged that the issue should not be politicised, the controversy refuses to die down.
What has made matters worse for the UPA is, that not just the Opposition BJP but its UPA ministers too joined the chorus for Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee. Congress’ own minister Pallam Raju said, “Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been a great statesman and if the country decides, he should get Bharat Ratna.” Minister of Renewable Energy Farooque Abdullah also went public stating “I am not from the BJP, but an Indian and no one can forget Vajpayee-ji was a great leader. I request the government to finally give Bharat Ratna to him.”
The JD(U) today went public demanding the Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh, the ‘kisan neta’. National spokesperson K C Tyagi speaking to Business Standard said, “It is shameful that a leader of the stature of Chaudhary Charan Singh, a true representative of ‘kisans’ and rural India, that account for 80 per cent of India’s population has been ignored for so long. We from the JD(U) are demanding the Bharat Ratna for him and will be raring the issue during the Winter session. Tyagi said that other leaders such as Samajwadi Party’s Mulayam Singh Yadav, who were among Charan Singh’s followers will also be supporting the move.
Tyagi’s went onto accuse “the Congress which has been in power for the longest time has politicized the awards. People from non- Congress movements have totally been left out. Deserving leaders such as Karpuri Thakur, Ram Manohar Lohia and even Atal Behari Vajpayee have been discriminated against.” JD(U) till a few months back was an ally of the BJP but had a bitter parting after 17 years.
The controversy about the awards took a bizarre turn today with a case being filed in a local court in Muzaffarpur (Bihar) challenging the selection of Sachin Tendulkar for Bharat Ratna and charging the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister with hurting peoples' sentiments.
