New Delhi: The UPA Government seems to have dismissed Opposition leader LK Advani's suggestion for conferring this year's Bharat Ratna on former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, saying that "such issues can't be discussed in public."
Seeking to make light of Advani's letter seeking Bharat Ratna for Vajpayee, Information and Broadcasting Minister PR Dasmunsi on Thursday said: "Bharat Ratna isn't a matter to be conveyed in a letter and it shouldn't be a matter for exchange of letters or bargain. It's the ultimate wisdom of the government to decide how the decoration should be placed on whom."
In a sarcastic vein, Dasmunsi also said that it would have been better had Advani honoured Vajpayee within the party. "It is not in the tradition to communicate through letter on such matters," he said.
On January 5, Advani had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh saying he would like to propose Vajpayee's name for the nation's highest civilian award for his contribution to the national life and for strengthening democracy — both when he was in power and when he was out of it.
Dasmunsi said he did not know why Advani had written such a letter, but felt that had the Leader of Opposition honoured Vajpayee within the party, it would have been much better.
He said many people write to the government, seeking honours like Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, but there was an appropriate committee at the Centre to decide on such issues.
These awards are announced on the eve of Republic Day every year. Bharat Ratna was last conferred on shehnai maestro Ustad Bismillah Khan and melody queen Lata Mangeshkar in 2001.
(With agency inputs)
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