In a ceremonious event on Saturday, President Draupadi Murmu posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian prize, to two former prime ministers, visionary agricultural scientist M.S. Swaminathan, and the people's leader Karpoori Thakur. Senior BJP leader L.K. Advani, due to illness, could not attend.
The ceremony, held at the Presidential Palace, saw socialist icon and former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, former PM P.V. Narasimha Rao, Bihar's ex-Chief Minister Karpoori Thakur, and agricultural pioneer Swaminathan being conferred with the honour posthumously.
President Murmu may honour LK Advani at home
Sidelined by illness, veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani missed the ceremony. There is anticipation that President Murmu will visit him on Sunday to bestow the honour in person.
Families receive the accolades
The relatives of the honoured posthumously accepted this prestigious recognition at the event. P.V. Prabhakar Rao, son of former PM Narasimha Rao, received the award from the President in a special ceremony at the Presidential Palace.
Source: aajtak
Jayant Chaudhary, grandson of Chaudhary Charan Singh and President of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), accepted the honour from President Murmu at the ceremony. Nitya Rao, daughter of M.S. Swaminathan, and Ramnath Thakur, son of Karpoori Thakur, were also present to receive the Bharat Ratna.
The event was attended by key figures including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Home Minister Amit Shah, among others.
