Delhi Chief Minister and Magsaysay awardee Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal today announced that his deputy and Delhi’s Education Minister Manish Sisodia should get a Bharat Ratna, highest civilian award in India, for his ‘work’. Sisodia is accused no. 1 in the recent Excise on liquor scam that has rocked the national capital.
He (Manish Sisodia) reformed govt schools which other parties could not do in 70 years. Such a person should get Bharat Ratna. The entire country's education system should be handed over to him, but instead, they conducted CBI raids on him: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal in Gujarat pic.twitter.com/jl3X6YnUUV
— ANI (@ANI) August 22, 2022
Kejriwal said that while the government should be appreciating his work, they are instead conducting CBI raids on him. Again, the CBI raids are in connection to an excise on liquor scam where Sisodia is one of the accused.
Netizens immediately took to Twitter to agree with Kejriwal that there is no one else in the country as deserving as Sisodia to be conferred with such an award.
Dhyan Chand, Ratan Tata, Dalai Lama can wait. I request the Prime Minister to recommend Manish Sisodia for Bharat Ratna. We would be honouring this award by giving it to him.
— Anand Ranganathan (@ARanganathan72) August 22, 2022
We agree with scientist and author Anand Ranganathan that it would be an honour for the Bharat Ratna to be conferred upon the great Manish Sisodia.
Bharat Ratna is too small for someone as grand as handsome sir. I propose he be called Rashtrapita only. Mahatma Manish. https://t.co/rCYZ0u26mf
— Rahul Roushan (@rahulroushan) August 22, 2022
Author and self-declared ‘handsome man’ Rahul Roushan took it up a notch and said how nothing less than Mahatma as title would work for Manish Sisodia. As a fan of alliteration, (hint: read his own name), Rahul Roushan suggested Sisodia be known as Mahatma Manish from now. Roushan is also CEO of OpIndia, but he has informed this correspondent that his above tweet is in personal capacity.
Ye aadmi pagal hai kya?
— THE SKIN DOCTOR (@theskindoctor13) August 22, 2022
Usually to give befitting replies with facts and logic, The Skin Doctor was at total loss of words.
One Twitter user Amar pointed out that the last time Kejriwal announced such an award for one of his ministers, that minister landed in jail.
Last Padmashree recommended by Kajri for Satyendra is in Jail, he is actually saying Kala Pani for Handsome, amount may have not been divided properly https://t.co/LzJgrCc7zv
— Amar 🇮🇳 (@AMARNATHJHA) August 22, 2022
In June when the Enforcement Directorate had arrested Satyendar Jain in alleged hawala scam, Kejriwal had announced how he should be given a Padma Vibhushan instead of inquiries by law enforcement agencies.
Satyendar Jain is a patriot. Country should be proud of him, he gave Mohalla clinic to Delhi. People from across world have come to see it. He should be given Padma Vibhushan. Let everyone enquire into him, CBI has already cleared him, ED will as well: Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/CgJkh6tGCf
— ANI (@ANI) June 1, 2022
Jain is currently in jail and last week Delhi High Court had dismissed plea filed by Congress worker that Jain be declared a person of ‘unsound mind’ after he had claimed that he was suffering memory loss after having been infected with COVID-19.
While both these ministers with allegations of corruption are given clean chit by Kejriwal and also insisted they get the Bharat Ratna and Padma awards, his former minister, Sandeep Singh, who was involved in sex scandal, has not been given any such privilege. In fact, the former Social Welfare Minister of Delhi was earlier sacked by Kejriwal after receiving an ‘objectionable’ CD in which he was purportedly shown in a compromising position with a woman. Kejriwal had then stated that Kumar had betrayed the faith of AAP supporters and therefore deserved sacking. Kumar, in his defence, claimed that a plan was hatched up against him because he was a dalit.
Nehru-Gandhi family has frequently given awards to themselves
While on topics of awards, we cannot not talk about the Nehru Gandhi family and the awards they have conferred upon themselves, just because they think they’re awesome.
In 1951, after his initial ’embarrassment’ wore off, Nehru accepted that his birthday be celebrated as ‘Children’s’ Day’ in India, not because ‘he loved children’ as it is widely propagated, but because drawing inspiration from Queen Elizabeth II, whose birthday is celebrated as Flag Day to raise money for Save the Child Fund. In fact, back in 1955, when then President of India Dr Rajendra Prasad, who was also a Congress leader, before retiring from Congress party politics, conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian award, to Nehru, he did not say no.
Dr Prasad had done so using his discretionary powers and without consulting the Cabinet. Nehru, instead of declining the honour while the Prime Minister from his own government, just accepted that he was awesome. Like father, like daughter, they say. In 1971, when Indira Gandhi was awarded the Bharat Ratna while being in office of Prime Minister, she, too, did not say no. Rajiv Gandhi was awarded the Bharat Ratna posthumously and he could not really have said no.
