Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh: Former PM who championed farmers’ causes

The Centre on Friday announced it would award the Bharat Ratna posthumously to former Prime Minister and farmer leader Chaudhary Charan Singh.

“It is an honour of our government that former Prime Minister of the country Chaudhary Charan Singh is being honoured with Bharat Ratna. This honour is dedicated to his incomparable contribution to the country,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi wrote on X, announcing the award for Singh.

Modi said Singh dedicated his entire life to farmers’ rights and welfare. “Be it the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh or the Home Minister of the country and even as an MLA, he always gave impetus to nation building. He also stood firmly against the Emergency. His dedication to our farmer brothers and sisters and his commitment to democracy during the Emergency is inspiring to the entire nation,” said the PM.

The PM also announced Bharat Ratna for former PM P V Narasimha Rao and agriculture scientist Dr MS Swaminathan. “This exemplifies the Modi government’s commitment to the agricultural sector, as reflected by the selection of two out of three awardees, Chaudhary Charan Singh and Dr M S Swaminathan, who have significantly championed the cause of agriculture,” said a source.

The source added, “Two of the awardees, Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, come from non-BJP backgrounds, indicating Prime Minister Modi’s belief in conferring national honours in a very party-agnostic manner.”

The Bharat Ratna for Chaudhary Charan Singh comes at a time when there are talks of Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) headed by Singh’s grandson Jayant Chaudhary joining the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance. Though the RLD does not have a single Lok Sabha MP, the party has its base among farmers and the Jat community in west