After Janata Dal (United) leader KC Tyagi proposed Bharat Ratna to be conferred on Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, several leaders from the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), of which Kumar’s JD(U) is a key part, have came out in support of the request.
The call for India’s highest civilian honour for the longest-serving Bihar CM has also found unexpected backing from one of Lalu Prasad Yadav’s son, with a condition attached.
The ruffle in Bihar politics – dormant since the assembly elections in November except for a row after Nitish Kumar pulled down a Muslim woman’s face covering or niqab (also called hijab in some reports) – gathered pace after JD(U) MP KC Tyagi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Bharat Ratna for Nitish Kumar. Tyagi called Kumar a “precious gem” of the socialist movement.
Two days after Tyagi’s letter, Nitish Kumar’s party curiously distanced itself from the unusual request, stating that it was the ex-MP’s personal view and “not in line with the party’s ideology”.
However, even as JD(U) tried to downplay the letter citing Tyagi’s “several statements” in the recent past, many NDA leaders joined the chorus for Nitish.
Chirag Paswan, a minister in PM Modi’s cabinet, said Nitish is worthy of the honour owing to the two decades of his leadership in Bihar.
“The way Bihar has progressed over the last two decades under the leadership of the current Chief Minister Nitish Kumar ji, he is certainly deserving of this honour, I accept that. However, I believe that in India, the country’s highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, is not given based on demands or someone’s wishes. There is a proper process behind it, and whoever meets the criteria through that process will definitely be awarded it,” Paswan told reporters.
The praise from the LJP(RV) leader was unusual as he has been a vocal critic of his ally until recently.
Another MLA from Paswan’s party, Raju Tiwari, also backed the request, saying his party welcomes the proposal and that Nitish Kumar was a distinguished leader, “a rare one”.
Bihar assembly speaker Dr Prem Kumar welcomed KC Tyagi’s statement, saying Nitish had a “crucial role in the development of Bihar and of the country”.
Unusual praise from Lalu’s son
RJD boss Lalu Prasad Yadav’s estranged son Tej Pratap Yadav also weighed in on the issue. He said if Bharat Ratna was to be awarded to Nitish Kumar, it should also be awarded to Lalu Prasad Yadav, as his father and Nitish Kumar were “like brothers”.
“Lalu Prasad Yadav should also be awarded the Bharat Ratna. If people are saying that Nitish Kumar should receive it, then give it to him too, because it is said that my father and Nitish Kumar were like brothers… This is Janshakti Janta Dal’s demand,” the JJD chief said.
KC Tyagi told ANI that Nitish was among the founding members of NDA, and PM Narendra Modi had conferred Bharat Ratna on late Chaudhary Charan Singh and late Karpoori Thakur too. Tyagi has been with the JD(U) since its inception.