The Bharat Ratna will be conferred on former Prime Ministers P. V. Narasimha Rao and Choudhary Charan Singh, as well as Green Revolution pioneer M. S. Swaminathan, adding to the two awardees already announced earlier this year — socialist leader Karpoori Thakur and former Deputy Prime Minister L. K. Advani.
A Rashtrapati Bhawan communique made the announcement on Friday, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauding his late predecessors — the Congress PM Rao’s liberalisation policies, and the Janata Party PM Singh’s championing of the farmers’ cause — as well as the late agricultural scientist Swaminathan’s services in the field.
Analysis: In choices for state honours, Modi government often reaches across the political aisle
