Chief Minister Nithish Kumar writes PM Modi for giving Bharat Ratna to this leader

Chief Minister Nithish Kumar writes PM Modi for giving Bharat Ratna to this leader

Chief Minister Nithish Kumar writes PM Modi for giving Bharat Ratna to this leader
Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Sunday wrote a fresh letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reviving his demand to confer the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna to veteran socialist leader Dr Ram Manohar Lohia.

In his three-page letter, Nitish Kumar also highlighted Lohia’s long association with Goa liberation movement and urged the PM to name Goa airport after the great socialist leader.

Highlighting the role of Lohia in the country’s freedom movement, uniting opposition parties in post-independence Nehru era and strengthening socialist movement, Nitish said, “Such a great freedom fighter should be conferred with Bharat Ratna on his death anniversary on forthcoming October 12.”

“It is my personal request that the proposal regarding conferring Bharat Ratna to Lohia and naming of Goa airport after him should be considered and direction should be given to the concerned ministry for taking necessary steps in this regard,” Bihar CM said in his letter.

Earlier in August 2014 when he was working as a senior JD(U) leader after quitting the Bihar CM’s post in favour of Jitan Ram Manjhi, Nitish Kumar had strongly pitched for conferring of Bharat Ratna to Lohia and former Bihar CM Karpoori Thakur for their contribution to the country.

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Conferring the highest civilian award of the country on Lohia and Thakur would increase the prestige of the award, Nitish had said. “This will happen only when this award is given to those who have really done great work involving sacrifice and hard work for the country,” he had then posted on a social networking site.

Later in December 2014, the Bihar legislative council passed a unanimous resolution demanding ‘Bharat Ratna’ for Lohia, and Bihar’s two former CMs Shri Krishna Sinha and Karpoori Thakur for “their outstanding contributions in nation building.”

Moving a resolution in the council as a JD(U) MLC in the last week of December 2014, Nitish Kumar had then hailed the Centre’s decision to confer Bharat Ratna on BHU founder and noted freedom fighter Pt Madan Mohan Malviya and former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Nitish, in his resolution, had said, “Lohia, Sinha and Thakur also deserved Bharat Ratna.”