Deve Gowda, former prime minister and Janata Dal (Secular) veteran, praised the central government’s decision to bestow the Bharat Ratna on Saturday and urged those who disagreed with the decision not to oppose it.
“Unnecessary, let us not try to again differ on a major issue taken by our prime minister to confer Bharat Ratna for these great leaders,” said the veteran leader speaking in Rajya Sabha today, the last session of the ongoing Budget session of Parliament.
The government announced on Thursday that Chaudhary Charan Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, and MS Swaminathan will be given the Bharat Ratna posthumously.
Speaking about the Ram Lalla Pran Pratishtha, which was debated in the Upper House today, the JDS veteran, who attended the January 22 ceremony, stated that Lord Rama and his heavenly blessings had unified our nation and laid the foundation for it.
“I and my wife both attended the consecration of the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya. It was a great moment of personal joy and devotion for me like it was to millions of Indians. Ayodhya Ram existed in our hearts and minds is an image that our ancestors and elders have permanently created. Lord Rama is a symbol of righteousness, he is a symbol of love and graciousness, is a man who followed dharma and Raj Dharma, he was very accommodative,” Gowda said.
“It is these values that are enshrined in Lord Rama that drew Mahatma Gandhi to him. It is Mahatma Gandhi who made Lord Rama a symbol of the great virtues of our nation. It is through Lord Rama and his divine blessings that united this nation and laid the foundation for our nation,” Gowda added.
He also expressed his wish and prayer that the Lord Rama temple in Ayodhya will become a symbol of our nation and the world. He also praised Prime Minister Narendra Modi on strictly following the 11-day fasting practices leading up to Ram Lalla Pran Pratistha day.
“I was so happy and I must be very frank that the prime minister was so dedicated and so sincere while performing the Pran Pratistha function,” Deve Gowda said.
This is the final session of the current Lok Sabha before the general elections, which are expected to take place in April-May this year.
The budget session was originally slated to end on February 9 but has been prolonged by one day.