Announcing the awards on his X handle, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, “Delighted to share that our former Prime Minister Shri PV Narasimha Rao Garu, will be honoured with the Bharat Ratna. As a distinguished scholar and statesman, Narasimha Rao Garu served India extensively in various capacities.” Rao was the country’s first and only full-term Pm from the South.
In the next post, Modi announced the Bharat Ratna for Jat icon and former PM Charan Singh. Jayant Singh has the ability to swing Jat votes in western UP.
Modi’s third post announced the award for Dr Swaminathan. Both Rao and Swaminathan hail from the South, where except for Karnataka the BJP is yet to make its mark in electoral politics. In all, 53 stalwarts have been honoured with the Bharat Ratna so far.
Buzz on Badal, Biju
Other names that are doing the rounds for the Bharat Ratna are Bal Thackeray, Biju Patnaik, Anna Hazare, Manmohan Singh, Parkash Singh Badal and N T Rama Rao. “Don’t be surprised if Amitabh Bachchan gets the award. Ramanand Sagar and Arun Govil (Rama-yan serial) also deserve it,” remarked a BJP functionary
