Piyush Goyal, Vice President tear into Congress for ignoring Charan Singh, BJP demands apology from Congress

In a stern rebuke directed at the Congress party, Leader of the House and Union Minister Piyush Goyal asserted on Saturday that had former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh belonged to the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty, the previous Congress-led UPA government would have conferred upon him the Bharat Ratna. Goyal expressed satisfaction that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had honored Charan Singh with the Bharat Ratna, describing it as a “moment of pride.”

Addressing the concluding session of the ongoing budget session of Parliament before the upcoming Lok Sabha elections, Piyush Goyal called for the leader of the opposition to apologize to the nation for what he deemed as an “insult” to Chaudhary Charan Singh. He underscored the significance of PM Modi’s decision to bestow the Bharat Ratna upon Charan Singh, lamenting that the Congress failed to appreciate the gesture due to his lack of association with the Nehru-Gandhi lineage.

In a direct attack on the Congress party during his speech, Goyal emphasized, “It is a moment of pride that PM Modi gave respect to Chaudhary Charan Singh by awarding him the Bharat Ratna…Congress should have been celebrating today that their former PM has been awarded by the Modi government. But unfortunately, he did have Nehru-Gandhi in his surname. If he belonged to the first family it would have worked.”

In response, Mallikarjun Kharge stated, “They salute all those people who have worked for the country irrespective of political parties, caste, and creed.” Rajya Sabha Chairman Jagdeep Dhankhar condemned the opposition’s behavior, asserting that their actions amounted to insulting Chaudhary Charan Singh and his legacy. He stressed the need to respect Charan Singh’s contributions, particularly to the farming community.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently announced that former Prime Ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao, along with MS Swaminathan, recognized as the father of the green revolution, would be honored with the Bharat Ratna. This session marks the final sitting of the current Lok Sabha ahead of the forthcoming general elections, anticipated to occur in April-May this year.