NDA honours Oppn leaders again, this time Azad, Buddhadeb

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, January 25

Continuing the practice of feting Opposition leaders, the government on Tuesday named former Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha and Congress veteran Ghulam Nabi Azad and former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya among the 17 Padma Bhushan awardees.

PART OF Cong’s G-23

• Ghulam Nabi Azad selected for Padma Bhushan at a time when he has sought course correction in Congress
• PM Modi had given a teary-eyed farewell to Azad when his term as LoP in Rajya Sabha ended in February 2021

The government had earlier given the country’s highest civilian award Bharat Ratna to late President Pranab Mukherjee (2019); Padma Vibhushan to NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and late LS Speaker PA Sangma in 2017; Padma Bhushan to late Assam CM Tarun Gogoi in 2021; and Padma Bhushan to former Nagaland CM SC Jamir in 2020. Among other non-NDA leaders the NDA awarded were Congress’ Bhabani Charan Pattanayak from Odisha (Padma Shri in 2018) and former PDP leader Muzaffar Hussain Baig (Padma Bhushan in 2020).

Azad has been selected for the award in the public affairs category. The award comes at a time when the Congress is undergoing a massive churn and Azad, as head of the party’s group of 23 leaders, has demanded course correction from party chief Sonia Gandhi. PM Modi had, in February 2021, given a teary-eyed farewell to Azad when the latter’s term as Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha ended. The gesture was widely noticed.

Buddhadeb Bhattacharya was another surprise mention among 17 Padma Bhushan awardees.

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