A Rao deal and a Ratna
THE WEEK India|February 25, 2024
This columnist had warned the Congress way back in 2018 that the BJP would hijack P.V. Narasimha Rao. They have, with a posthumous Bharat Ratna.
R. PRASANNAN
A Rao deal and a Ratna

No quarrel. Rao deserves the honour, much more than L.K. Advani, Karpoori Thakur or Charan Singh, the other politicians whom Narendra Modi has honoured in a pre-election honour spree.

Many consider Rao next only to the visionary democrat Jawaharlal Nehru, the strategically far-sighted Indira Gandhi, and at par with or a notch above A.B. Vajpayee, among India’s PMs. He came to power heading a minority regime, 'bought' majority, gave us five years of stable rule, and got prosecuted for buying majority. No Congressman went to his aid when he was in the dock.

That’s how politicos are. Congressmen turn spiteful when out of power; BJP men do when in power. Taken together, we are in the worst of times.

This story is from the February 25, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.

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This story is from the February 25, 2024 edition of THE WEEK India.

Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.

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