‘Netaji’s stature is bigger than the Bharat Ratna’

The NDA government may soon announce its decision to name former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose and some other personalities for the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna. But Bose’s family criticised the move on Sunday.

Reacting to reports, Netaji’s grandnephew Sugata Bose told a television channel: ‘Keep Netaji out of partisan politics, his stature is bigger than Bharat Ratna. How can Netaji be given Bharat Ratna after Rajiv Gandhi? Anyone with a sense of history will agree with me.’  Sugata is also Netaji’s biographer. ‘Mr Vajpayee had a sense of history and he never put forward Netaji’s name,’ he added.

Chandra Kumar Bose, also Netaji’s grandnephew, said he had spoken to about 60 family members of the great freedom fighter and none were willing to accept the award on his behalf.’Netaji has been missing since 1945. When you award him with Bharat Ratna posthumously, you have to say when he died, but where is the evidence? The best way to honour him is to declassify government files which can reveal the truth behind his disappearance,’ he said. ‘All of us feel that Bharat Ratna is not the appropriate award for him. None of us will go and accept the award,’ he added.

The family and members of the Open Platform for Netaji had recently written to prime minister Narendra Modi, demanding formation of a Special Investigation Team under the guidance of a sitting judge of the Supreme Court to investigate into Netaji’s disappearance. The NDA government in 1992 had announced the Bharat Ratna for Bose, but it was never conferred, after his family members and supporters objected to the award being conferred on him posthumously.

Apart from Netaji and Vajpayee, founder of the Benaras Hindu University Madan Mohan Malviya, Dalit leader and founder of Bahujan Samaj Party Kanshi Ram and legendary hockey player Dhyanchand, who was overlooked by the previous UPA government for cricketer Sachin Tendulkar, are also under consideration for the nation’s most prestigious award.

The BJP has long demanded that the Bharat Ratna be awarded to Vajpayee, who had led the first NDA government at the Centre between 1998 and 2004. Vajpayee’s family on Sunday rejoiced at the reports. ‘Atal Bihari Vajpayee is not only a leader. He has a place in heart of Indian people,’ said Vajpayee’s niece Karuna Shukla.

A senior home ministry official said that four days back the government mint had been asked for five medallions of the Bharat Ratna. ‘But ordering five medallions does not mean that five persons will be bestowed with Bharat Ratna. This is to keep adequate number of medallions in reserve,’ he said. Besides, the government’s rule for Bharat Ratna is clear that the number of annual awards is restricted to a maximum of three in a particular year.

Meanwhile, the Opposition remained cautious on this issue. ‘Let the government decide first. All the names are such that none is objectionable,’ said CPI leader D Raja.