Bharat Ratna: PV Narasimha Rao’s Grandson, BJP Attack Gandhi Family

NV Subhash, the grandson of late prime minister PV Narasimha Rao, slammed the Gandhi family on Friday after the Centre announced Bharat Ratna for the iconic politician, saying they were instrumental in making him a scapegoat for the failures of the Congress party.

“PM Modi has conferred PV Narasimha Rao even though he belongs to the Congress party. Now, I blame the UPA government, especially the Gandhi family. From 2004 to 2014, when the UPA government was in power at the centre, leave alone Bharat Ratna, leave alone any awards, the Gandhi family was very, very instrumental in making Narasimha Rao a scapegoat for the failures of the Congress party,” Subhash, a BJP leader, said.

“It’s a pride, it’s an honour for us that at this point of time, at this crucial juncture where Narendra Modi has become the national leader and as the leader of the whole world where he has been constantly recognizing other leaders… I feel very, very emotional at this point in time because we have been expecting that the Bharat Ratna will be delayed,” he added.

PM Modi lauds PV Narasimha Rao

PM Modi today announced Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, for the former PM.

“As a distinguished scholar and statesman, Narasimha Rao Garu served India extensively in various capacities. He is equally remembered for the work he did as Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Union Minister, and as a Member of Parliament and Legislative Assembly for many years. His visionary leadership was instrumental in making India economically advanced, laying a solid foundation for the country’s prosperity and growth.

Narasimha Rao Garu’s tenure as Prime Minister was marked by significant measures that opened India to global markets, fostering a new era of economic development. Furthermore, his contributions to India’s foreign policy, language and education sectors underscore his multifaceted legacy as a leader who not only steered India through critical transformations but also enriched its cultural and intellectual heritage,” he wrote in a series of posts on X.

BJP slams Congress

The Bharatiya Janata Party, meanwhile, attacked the Congress for not honouring their own leaders.

“Congress did not even let their former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao’s mortal remains to be brought inside their office, the person who laid the foundation of economic liberalisation and a multilingual person. He has now been awarded the Bharat Ratna under PM Modi’s leadership,” said BJP leader KP Maurya.

Union minister Kailash Choudhary said the Congress thinks only about the Gandhi family.

“Today is definitely dedicated to farmers. The messiah of farmers, who spent his life for the farmers of India, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and also MS Swaminathan, an agricultural scientist who produced the Swaminathan report have been honoured… I would thank PM Modi for honouring these great men who have worked extensively for the farmers… Congress did not honour their own prime minister but PM Modi did that. This tells a lot about Congress that they cannot think of anyone except the Gandhi family,” he said.

Meanwhile, Congress MP Rajeev Shukla said the BJP left out Manmohan Singh.

“It’s good that Bharat Ratna is to be conferred upon PV Narasimha Rao who brought the biggest economic reform in the country. But, it’s sad that it was Manmohan Singh also who was in that team against whose tenure they (BJP) have brought ‘white paper’… We welcome Bharat Ratna for PV Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh and MS Swaminathan,” he said.

PV Narasimha Rao teamed up with Manmohan Singh in 1991 and brought economic reforms that marked the beginning of India’s success story.

The BJP claims that Rao was sidelined by the Congress party and didn’t bring his mortal remains to the party’s office after he died.