'I Welcome Them. Why Not?': Sonia Gandhi on Bharat Ratna Announcements

Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Friday welcomed the Centre’s decision to award Bharat Ratna to former Prime Ministers PV Narasimha Rao, Chaudhary Charan Singh, and agricultural scientist Dr MS Swaminathan, posthumously.

The former party president said, “I welcome them, why not.” while moving out of the Parliament and heading towards her car.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the nation, for the two former Prime Ministers, and an agricultural scientist posthumously.

On behalf of the Indian National Congress, party president Mallikarjun Kharge applauded the decision as he posted on the microblogging site, X.

“Congress party applauds their vision, their hard work, and the exceptional legacies of these national icons, which the nation has always celebrated,” he said.

Recalling the contribution of former prime minister and former Congress president P V Narasimha Rao, Kharge said that he has tremendously contributed to nation-building, adding that during his regime “India embarked on a transformative journey with a series of economic reforms that played a pivotal role in shaping the middle class for generations to come.”

Crediting former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh for pro-farmer policies, Kharge said that crores of farmers respect Singh, who helped strengthen rural India. He also called Singh ‘son of the soil’.

The party president called Dr Swaminathan a legendary scientist, who is known for his unmatched contribution to the field of agricultural science and his intervention in making India self-sufficient in food grains through the Green Revolution, is a milestone in nation-building.

“An institution builder par excellence, above all a humanitarian, he is also known as “the Father of Economic Ecology”, a richly deserved pseudonym.” he posted on X.