Cong jeers at Advani, says he did no service to Atal

BAD PROPOSAL: Cong leaders say Advani 'embarrassed' Vajpayee by proposing his name for the honour.

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New Delhi: The Government has put the lid on the Bharat Ratna debate after it decided not to bestow the nation's highest civilian honour on anyone for the consecutive seventh year.

And as soon as it became clear that no Bharat Ratna will be awarded this year, Congress leaders grabbed the opportunity to taunt LK Advani, saying the Bharatiya Janata Party leader did no service to Atal Bihari Vajpayee by publicly demanding the honour for the former prime minister.

Congress politicians have blamed Advani for creating a 'mess' with his public appeal for Vajpayee. "If he (Advani) was really serious about Vajpayee's recommendation, he should have personally talked to the Prime Minister instead of writing letters and publicising the issue," Congress leader M Veerapa Moily said.

"This has only created unnecessary embarrassment for Vajpayee. I feel that in the first instance the request should not have been made in the form of a letter," Congress General Secretary Margaret Alva claimed.

Advani, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, had cited 10 reasons why he thought Vajpayee was worthy of a Bharat Ratna. But criticism followed him.

"Institutions like Bharat Ratna have been sullied but what Advani did is extremely unacceptable," said Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) leader Nilotpal Basu.

Advani's suggestion then sparked a deluge of names, all for the Bharat Ratna: from Jyotiba Phule, proposed by Lok Janshakti Party leader Ram Vilas Paswan, to late singer Mohammad Rafi, former prime minister Charan Singh and socialist veteran Karpoori Thakur.

Congress minister Meira Kumar put up the name of her late father and Dalit icon Jagjivan Ram.

Not to be left behind, Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) chief and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister proposed the name of her mentor Kanshi Ram while Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK sought the honour for Chief Minister MK Karunanidhi.