Patna/New Delhi: The clamour for Bharat Ratna for former Premier Atal Bihari Vajpayee grew louder on Monday with Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, a former BJP ally, as well as Union Minister Farooq Abdullah backing the saffron party's demand.
Two days after cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and noted scientist C.N.R. Rao were named for the country's highest civilian honour, there were also demands that hockey wizard Dhyan Chand, socialist icon Rammanohar Lohia and former Bihar Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur be given the coveted award.
Expressing government's view on the pitch for naming Vajpayee, Union I and B Minister Manish Tewari said there is a need to think with 'seriousness' on Bharat Ratna when questions like his approach towards Narendra Modi government after the 2002 post-Godhra riots in Gujarat were still 'hanging in the air'.
Leaving aside acrimony with his former NDA ally, Nitish said, "He(Vajpayee) deserves it. Why should not it be given to him?".
Nitish, who served as Railway Minister in the Vajpayee cabinet, said this when asked if he supported Bharat Ratna for the BJP stalwart.
Nitish, who is the driving force of JD(U), also made a strong case for giving the award to Rammanohar Lohia, his ideological guru, and Karpoori Thakur, who was chief minister of the state in 1977. "Lohiaji should have got it long back."
He, however, distanced himself from party colleague Shivanand Tiwari's comments questioning the award being given to Tendulkar. "It is a personal opinion of Tiwari ... everybody has an opinion," Nitish told reporters in Patna.
Farooq, a leader of Congress ally National Conference, said Vajpayee is bigger than the award itself. "I am not a BJP man but I am an Indian and I think no one can forget that he is a fine leader," he said.
"I must tell you that the first time he talked in Lok Sabha, Jawaharlal (Nehru) jee went to him (Vajpayee) and said one day you will be the Prime Minister of this country. Nehru said this when no one could think that he would be PM one day.
"I would personally request that a such a big personality (Vajpayee), who is bigger than the Bharat Ratna, should be given the due honour and it should be given now itself," he said in New Delhi.
Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Sushma Swaraj said Vajpayee should have been awarded Bharat Ratna much earlier.
"We have been demanding this for a long time that Vajpayee is the son of Mother India and he should get it. It's late but considering the sentiments of people now this government should give Bharat Ratna to Vajpayee.
"If BJP comes to power, 100 per cent the award will be given to him," she said.
"Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji had advised a Chief Minister that he should follow 'raj dharma.' But perhaps, he himself had failed to follow 'raj dharma' somewhere. 'Raj dharma' required that at that time, that particular state government should have been dismissed," Tewari said responding to a reporter's question in New Delhi.
"He also regretted this later. In 2004 when he went to Manali, in an interview he said that Gujarat pogrom was a blot on NDA and responsible for its loss in the General elections. So when such questions are still hanging in the air, there is a need to think with seriousness on Bharat Ratna," he added.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said it is good that Tendulkar has got the Bharat Ratna, but hockey great Major Dhyan Chand too should be given the award. Chouhan said he also supported his party's call for Bharat Ratna to Vajpayee.
Union Minister Pallam Raju said if the country wants, Vajpayee should get Bharat Ratna and his name could be considered by the government.
"I'm sure people have wisdom, Vajpayee is a great statesman and if the country decides, he should get Bharat Ratna. I don't see why not," he said.
Raju's ministerial colleague Shashi Tharoor backed the decision to confer the award on Tendulkar and said that in the future others could be considered.
"People see Sachin as a 'Ratna' of Bharat, in the future other names can be considered for the award," Tharoor said and added that everyone has great respect for Vajpayee.
Injecting a sour note, JD(U) leader Shivanand Tiwari questioned government's decision to bestow the honour on Tendulkar, saying there were far more deserving personalities like Dhyan Chand.
Tiwari also said that the batting maestro has not played cricket for free and earned "thousands of crores".
