Truth is bitter! The politics over awarding Bharat Ratna has put the beleaguered Kangress Party into bitter fix! Read more at:
http://www.business-standard.com/article/current-affairs/was-congress-in-a-t earing-hurry-to-award-sachin-the-bharat-ratna-113112000182_1.html U. G. Barad The Grand Old Party knows well that Tendulkar will continue to be associated with its government in the public mind. As the nation is obsessed with who will make it to the Lal Qila (Red Fort) next August 15, the politics over Bharat Ratna the highest civilian honour in India has put the beleaguered United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government in a fix. At present, the Congress party wants that Sachin Tendulkar should send signals, direct or indirect, to the voters ahead of the 2014 election to support the party. Till the other day, the Bharat Ratna could only be conferred on an exceptional achiever from the field of art, literature, science and public services. Now, that has changed, thanks mainly to the efforts of Union Sports Minister Ajay Maken. ______________________________ ALSO READ: Controversy over Bharat Ratna awards refuses to die down ______________________________ The rules governing eligibility for the highest civilian award were modified two years ago apparently to keep the doors open for the cricket maestro to receive the honour on his retirement. There is one school of thought that argues that the master blaster has already been awarded the prestigious Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna, which is the highest honour that can be given to a sportsman in the country. Therefore, there was no need to expand the terms of reference of the Bharat Ratna to accommodate the cricketer. ______________________________ ALSO READ: Centre a bit hasty in awarding Bharat Ratna to Sachin: CPM ______________________________ Last week, Tendulkar joined the galaxy of 41 eminent personalities who have been honoured in recognition of exceptional service or performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour. The moot question is: has the government devalued the prestige of the Bharat Ratna by taking into consideration public sentiment in relaxing the guidelines for the award? Has the government been forced to take recourse to such a populist step under pressure? Only time will tell if the Centre showed haste in awarding Bharat Ratna to the Little Master. ______________________________ ALSO READ: Case filed against PM, Tendulkar on Bharat Ratna award ______________________________ On 19 July, the sports ministry recommended hockey legend late Dhyan Chand over Tendulkar for the Bharat Ratna. The ministry had to name only one sportsperson for the Bharat Ratna to the Prime Minister's Office and for them Dhyan Chand, who passed away in 1979, was the right choice. The wizard of Indian hockey had won three gold medals at the Olympics in 1928, 1932 and 1936. Despite recommendation by the sports ministry of Dhyan Chands name for the award, the government finally decided to confer Bharat Ratna only on Tendulkar. Why? ______________________________ ALSO READ: Sena flays Tiwari for questioning Bharat Ratna to Sachin ______________________________ Analysts are of the view that in the case of Tendulkar there seems to have been a great deal of hurry and urgency. And the needle of suspicion points towards the crudest forms of political calculations. The ruling party made an effort to cash in on the mass hysteria that gripped the nation following Tendulkars retirement. The prospects are that the Bharat Ratna to a young and iconic cricketer will strike a chord among young voters. According to media reports, the matter had been discussed informally at the highest level, and that both UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi had seemed excited about the timing, keeping in mind the hoopla over the cricketers exit. Prime Minister Manmohan Singh concurred, and it was decided barely a few days ago that the award would be conferred on Tendulkar the moment the curtain came down formally on his international career. Observers point out that the real issue lies in a system that is fundamentally flawed. In India, successive governments choices for awards such as the Bharat Ratna have generated needless controversies. The choice of Lata Mangeshkar or the late Ustad Bismillah Khan for the honour was at best contentious. How is the Bharat Ratna awarded? It was instituted in 1954, the award recognises exceptional service/ performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour, irrespective of race, occupation, position or gender. Awarded by the President on a recommendation from the Prime Minister, the recipients get a certificate but no monetary prize and cannot add the award as a prefix or suffix to their name. HOW DECKS WERE CLEARED FOR TENDULKAR April 16, 2013: Sports minister Ajay Maken writes to home minister P. Chidambaram to make sportspersons eligible for the Bharat Ratna July 2013: Chidambaram forwards note to Prime Ministers Office, which clears the proposal November 2013: Rules amended to make the award available for those excelling in fields outside art, literature, science and public service 2013: PMO and home ministry receive proposals to nominate Sachin for the award 16 November 2013: Prime Minister recommends Tendulkar's name to President CASE FILED AGAINST PM, TENDULKAR ON BHARAT RATNA AWARD: Read at: http://www.business-standard.com/article/politics/case-filed-against-pm-tend ulkar-on-bharat-ratna-award-113111900750_1.html The case has been admitted by the CJM, who fixed December 10 as the date of hearing A case was today filed in a local court here challenging the selection of Sachin Tendulkar for Bharat Ratna and charging the Prime Minister and Union Home Minister with hurting peoples' sentiments. The iconic cricketer too has been named as an accused in the case filed under Indian Penal Code Sections 420 (offences relating to cheating and dishonesty) 419 (punishment for cheating by personation), 417 (punishment for cheating), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of peace) and 120(B) (punishment of criminal conspiracy). The case filed in the court of Chief Judicial Magistrate S P Singh by local lawyer Sudhir Kumar Ojha said the selection of Sachin Tendulkar for the country's highest civilian honour and not legendary hockey player Dhyanchand has hurt the sentiments of the people of the country. The petitioner has charged Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Union Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde, Union Sports Minister Bhanwar Jitendra Singh and secretary to the Union Sports Minsitry with hurting the people's sentiments by deleting Dhyanchand's name to accomodate Tendulkar's wish for the highest national honours. The case has been admitted by the CJM, who fixed December 10 as the date of hearing. The petitioner has made JD(U) MP Shivanand Tiwari a witness in the case. Tiwari had yesterday protested against the selection of Tendulkar on the ground that the star cricketer did not deserve the country's highest civilian award as he had made millions out of playing the game in contrast to Dhayanchand, who had done the country proud by leading the hockey team to gold medals in successive Olympic Games in the 1920s and 1930s. The UPA government had announced its decision to confer Bharat Ratna on Tendulkar to honour his contributions to cricket within hours of his bidding adieu to cricket last week.
