Is the UPA government considering a Bharat Ratna for CPI(M) veteran Jyoti Basu and is that why LK Advani demanded one for Atal Bihari Vajpayee?
NEW DELHI: Is the UPA government considering a Bharat Ratna for CPI(M) veteran Jyoti Basu and is that why LK Advani demanded one for Atal Bihari Vajpayee?
The government appears unlikely to oblige Advani by conferring the nation’s highest civilian honour on the former Prime Minister. However speculation is mounting that it might, instead, be toying with the idea of conferring the honour on the former West Bengal Chief Minister in a bid to keep the Left allies in good humour.
The minister for information and broadcasting minister Priyaranjan Dasmunshi advised Advani to “give Vajpayee proper importance within the BJP before making such a demand”.
Advani had on Wednesday written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that Vajpayee be conferred the honor in recognition of his qualities as a parliamentarian and record of being the longest serving non-Congress Prime Minister. Oscar Fernandes, minister for programme implementation, said: “This is an honor that is conferred not demanded.”
Though nobody in the Government was willing to confirm on record, a section within the Congress party appears inclined to confer the honour on Basu. Advani’s letter to the Prime Minister is also being viewed as an attempt to preempt the Government. Advani’s letter has also forced a clarification from the CPI(M). “We never lobby for any award or post,” said CPI(M) Polit Bureau member Sitaram Yechury.
Hardliners in the CPI(M) may also oppose any government move to honour Basu. They believe the party should not accept any honor bestowed on it by any non-communist Government. The same elements had thwarted Basu’s chances of becoming the Prime Minister in 1996.
The last time the Bharat Ratna was awarded was in 2000, to Lata Mangeshkar and Bismillah Khan. Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi are all Bharat Ratnas.
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