Message to farmers, strike at Congress, as Modi govt announces 3 more Bharat Ratnas

In a third announcement of Bharat Ratnas within a fortnight, the government on Fridaynamed three more recipients for the country’s highest civilian award — former prime ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh andP V Narasimha Rao, and celebrated agricultural economist M S Swaminathan.

Days ago, the Modi government had awarded Bharat Ratnas to Karpoori Thakur andL K Advani — honouring both the former’s social justice legacy, especially for EBCs, and the Hindutva legacy of the BJP exemplified by the latter.

The honour for Charan Singh, Rao and Swaminathan is similarly replete with political messaging on several levels in the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, continuing a Modi-era trend when it comes to State awards.

At five, one more than the four announced in 1999, this is the maximum number of Bharat Ratnas announced in a year.

Charan Singh was a prominent farmer leader with a strong base among the Jats of western UP. In offering him the highest civilian award, the Modi government has reached out to farmers of north India in general and the Jat community of western UP, Rajasthan and Haryana in particular. Significantly, the Jats of Haryana and western UP were at the forefront of the year-long agitation against the three farm laws legislated in 2021, on the borders of the national capital, eventually forcing Prime Minister Narendra Modi to announce their withdrawal.

The award comes at a time when there is growing speculation about the Rashtriya Lok Dal, set up by Charan Singh’s son Ajit Singh and now led by his grandson Jayant Choudhury, breaking away from the Opposition INDIA bloc to join the NDA. “Dil jeet liya (You’ve won my heart),” Jayant posted soon after the announcement of the award.

दिल जीत लिया! <a