New Delhi, Feb 9 (PTI) Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Friday welcomed the announcement that former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Charan Singh and agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan will be conferred Bharat Ratna, and said his party lauds the vision, hard work and exceptional legacies of these national icons.
“On the behalf of Indian National Congress, we welcome the Bharat Ratna being conferred to Shri P V Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and Dr M S Swaminathan,” Kharge said in a post on X.
He said former Congress president Rao’s contribution to nation building was tremendous.
Under his government, India embarked on a transformative journey with a series of economic reforms that played a pivotal role in shaping the middle class for generations to come, Kharge said.
Rao also made significant contributions to the country’s nuclear programme and a number of foreign policy achievements, including the “Look East” policy, marked his tenure as the prime minister, he noted.
Rao’s vital role in the prosperity and development of India shall always be cherished, the Congress president said.
“Former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh is known for his pro-farmer policies and is widely respected by the crores of farmers — our Annadatas and Khet Mazdoors in the country. A son of the soil, his interventions helped strengthen rural India,” Kharge said.
Describing Swaminathan as a “legendary scientist”, he said he is known for his unmatched contribution to the field of agricultural science and his intervention in making India self-sufficient in food grains through the Green Revolution is a milestone in nation building.
“An institution builder par excellence, above all a humanitarian, he is also known as “the Father of Economic Ecology”, a richly-deserved pseudonym,” Kharge said.
“The Congress party applauds their vision, their hard work and the exceptional legacies of these national icons, which the nation has always celebrated,” he added.
Rao, Singh and Swaminathan will be conferred Bharat Ratna, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday.
The government had earlier named former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur, a champion of backward empowerment, and L K Advani, a founding member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who is credited with charting the course of its rise through the 1990s, for the country’s highest civilian honour.
At five, one more than the four announced in 1999, this is the maximum number of Bharat Ratna awards announced for a year. PTI SKC RC
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