Former President Pranab Mukherjee will be conferred with the highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna.
According to a statement issued by the Rashtrapati Bhavan, late Assamese singer Bhupen Hazarika and late social activist Nanaji Deshmukh will also be awarded with the Bharat Ratna, posthumously.
#JustIn | Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulates former President Pranab Mukherjee, social activist Nanaji Deshmukh, and music maestro Bhupen Hazarika for being awarded the Bharat Ratna pic.twitter.com/G8pO99T58S
— NDTV (@ndtv) January 25, 2019
Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted three consecutive tweets to laud the contributions of the three eminent personalities.
Praising Pranab Mukherjee who has served for decades as a Congressman, a senior minister in several Congress-led governments and then as the President, PM Modi wrote on Twitter, “Pranab Da is an outstanding statesman of our times. He has served the nation selflessly and tirelessly for decades, leaving a strong imprint on the nation’s growth trajectory. His wisdom and intellect have few parallels. Delighted that he has been conferred the Bharat Ratna.”
Pranab Mukherjee, Nanaji Deshmukh and Bhupen Hazarika conferred with Bharat Ratna
https://t.co/CL7SPdNOGV
Hearty congratulations to @CitiznMukherjee India's veteran politician and First Bengali politician to be rewarded with India's highest civilian honour the Bharat Ratna— Siddarth Pai (@siddarthpaim) January 25, 2019
Bhupen Hazarika, one of the most popular regional singers and someone who is synonymous with the Assamese identity, had earlier been awarded with Padmashri, Padmabhushan, Dada Saheb Phalke Award among others things.
Mukherjee’s choice for the highest civilian award came at a time is also seen as an interesting move by the BJP-led government. The former president last year was the chief guest of RSS function in its headquarters.
