Give Atal Bharat Ratna, says BJP
The Bharatiya Janata Party has requested government to honour former Prime Minister and its patriarch Atal Behari Vajpayee with the country’s highest civilian award, the Bharat Ratna.
Mr Vajpayee, who turned 87 on Saturday, was wished by his party colleagues as well as cadre.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh also visited Mr Vajpayee’s Krishna Menon Marg residence to wish him. Dr Singh, after returning from his visit to Kerala, drove straight to the former Prime Minister’s residence and presented a bouquet to the ailing leader.
During the brief meeting, the Prime Minister also inquired about the health of the octogenarian leader from his family members.
Among the BJP leaders who visited Mr Vajpayee’s residence included former party president Rajnath Singh and Jaswant Singh.
After wishing Mr Vajpayee, Mr Rajnath Singh said the former Prime Minister deserved the Bharat Ratna for his contributions to the country.
“The country can never forget Vajpayee’s contribution to parliamentary democracy. Therefore, I humbly request the government to honour him with the Bharat Ratna,” Mr Singh said.
“At a time when there is a steady decline of values in Indian politics, Vajpayee is a leader who upheld commitments to these values for the last 55 years,” Mr Singh added.
BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain described Mr Vajpayee as a “living legend” and “tallest leader” in Asia and said he should be conferred with the Bharat Ratna.
“Everyone should raise above party affiliation to support him for the honour as there is no bigger leader than him today,” Mr Hussain said.
Senior party leader Jaswant Singh, who also greeted Mr Vajpayee, expressed his “sense of gratitude” to the former Prime Minister and to the party for having given him the opportunity to serve the country under him.
“That has been the greatest period of my life,” Mr Singh said.
He, however, expressed concern about his health, saying is “health is of course under strain”.
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