That the Bharatiya Janata Party will go to any extent to appease voters to be in power is evident from the government’s decision to confer the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award, on former President Pranab Mukherjee, musician Bhupen Hazarika (posthumous) and social activist Nanaji Deshmukh (posthumous). It reflects a deference to the dictates of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh and probably a way to appease the electorate in the Northeast and even West Bengal. After blatantly interfering in the functioning of a number of constitutional bodies and even the judiciary to achieve its ends, it is unfortunate that the BJP government is now using the highest civilian award to try and influence some sections of voters, especially as the countdown to the general election has begun.
Tharcius S. Fernando,
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