BJP slams UPA over ignoring Atal Behari Vajpayee for Bharat Ratna

SHIMLA: Welcoming the decision to confer Bharat Ratna on Sachin Tendulkar and Prof C N R Rao, the state BJP has attacked the UPA government for ignoring former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee for the top award. The BJP has requested President Paranab Mukherjee to direct the UPA government to complete the formalities to confer Bharat Ratna on Vajpayee.

In a statement here on Sunday, BJP spokesperson Ganesh Dutt said that Vajpayee had made India a super power by conducting five atomic explosions, despite threats from other superpowers, which ultimately declared to the world that India too has become a nuclear capable superpower. "Is UPA ignoring Vajpayee for these achievements," he asked.

Dutt said Vajpayee fulfills all the criteria and is most suitable for the award, but the UPA government is deliberately ignoring him. "Vajpayee's abilities and qualities were recognized by the first prime minister Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru while later, Prime Minister Narsimha Rao had sent him as leader of Indian delegations to different world platforms," he said.

The BJP leader claimed that though the stature of Vajpayee is such that he does not need any recommendation, yet the UPA government should complete the formalities to confer Bharat Ratna on him.