Congress leader pitches for Bharat Ratna to PV Narasimha Rao in letter to PM Modi

A senior Congress leader from Telangana has written to Narendra Modi demanding that the Prime Minister posthumously honour former PM PV Narasimha Rao with a Bharat Ratna. K Jana Reddy, the Leader of the Opposition in the Telangana Legislative Assembly, in his letter, said that Narasimha Rao was worthy of the honour as he held several posts throughout his political career that lasted close to 60 years. Dubbing Rao a 'political Chanakya', Reddy also pointed out that Rao was an economist, a political reformer, a writer and a multi-linguist with knowledge of over ten languages. The demand to confer a Bharat Ratna on the former Prime Minister is a long standing one, with politicians of all parties often agreeing in unison. Narasimha Rao was born in Karimnagar district, which is now in Telangana, on June 28, 1921. He was prime minister between 1991 and 1996 and died on December 23, 2004.  In 2014, recognising the services of Narasimha Rao to the nation, the Telangana Rashtra Samithi (TRS) government had declared that his birth anniversary will be celebrated as an official function. Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao demanded a Bharat Ratna for Rao and lamented at the time that he did not get the deserved honour at the national level though he was a genius on many fronts. The TDP and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu has also backed the demand, saying in 2014, "He was a thinker, a multi-faceted genius, an exceptional economist, who pioneered landmark economic reforms, a man of great integrity, a polyglot, a translator, a distinguished poet and an acclaimed author.” Several people within the BJP also support the demand to confer a Bharat Ratna on Rao, including former minister Subramanian Swamy. Stating that the former Prime Minister made the country self-reliant, Swamy had earlier said, “We will recognise the merit of the man and are going to award him with the highest civilian award in the country.”