NEW DELHI: Janshakti Janta Dal chief Tej Pratap Yadav has called for former Bihar chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to be awarded the Bharat Ratna along with Nitish Kumar.Speaking to reporters on Saturday, Tej Pratap Yadav said, “Lalu Prasad Yadav should also be awarded the Bharat Ratna. If people are saying that Nitish Kumar should receive it, then give it to him too, because it is said that my father and Nitish Kumar were like brothers... This is Janshakti Janta Dal’s demand…” The comments come days after Janata Dal (United) leader K C Tyagi wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi urging him to consider bestowing the Bharat Ratna on Nitish Kumar. In his letter, Tyagi described Kumar as a “precious gem” of the socialist movement and said many leaders had received the honour during their lifetime. Referring to the recent awards, Tyagi wrote, “March 30, 2024 was a day to honour our ancestors. Thanks to your efforts, they were bestowed with the highest honour, the ‘Bharat Ratna’.” He added, “Impressed by your efforts, I humbly request that Nitish Kumar, a precious gem of the socialist movement, is also worthy of this honour.”However, the JD(U) quickly distanced itself from Tyagi’s appeal. Party national spokesperson Rajeev Ranjan Prasad said Tyagi’s views did not reflect the organisation’s position. “The former party MP has made several statements in the recent past which have not been in line with the party’s ideology and not the official stand. All statements made by him shall be deemed to have been made in his personal capacity,” Prasad said, adding that office bearers were unsure whether Tyagi continued to hold any post in the party.Reiterating this stand, Prasad later told ANI, “Bihar CM Nitish Kumar is healthy. He is continuously serving the people of the state… He has absolutely no connection to the party’s activities… His statements are made in a personal capacity, and the party has no connection to them.”In 2024, Bharat Ratna awards were conferred on former prime ministers P V Narasimha Rao and Chaudhary Charan Singh, agriculture scientist M S Swaminathan and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.
