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Padma Bhushan ‘at the very least’ for Gyanesh Kumar: Bengal BJP leader's remark fuels ongoing row
West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said CEC Gyanesh Kumar deserved a Padma Bhushan "at the very least".
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Amid an ongoing political controversy surrounding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, a call for him to be awarded a Padma Bhushan emerged, further fueling the row.
Amid the uproar and calls for Gyanesh Kumar's resignation, West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya came out in support of the CEC, and called for a ‘Padma Bhushan’ for him.
While the Opposition found the proposal funny, some BJP workers in Bengal doubled down on their leader’s demand.
Gyanesh Kumar has been on the Opposition's target ever since a news report claimed that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected to some decisions taken by the poll panel. The Election Commission, however, has rejected the suggestion of an institutional rift, maintaining that decisions regarding the SIR and other matters were taken with the Commission's approval.
Several parties have backed a call for a protest against the CEC on October 2, calling for his resignation.
Amid the furore, the Bengal BJP chief wants a Padma Bhushan, India’s third-highest civilian award, for Gyanesh Kumar.
'At the very least’ a Padma Bhushan
West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya said CEC Gyanesh Kumar deserved a Padma Bhushan "at the very least", and credited him with ensuring a violence-free assembly election in the state and "cleansing" the voter list by removing illegal Bangladeshis.
"Gyanesh Kumar deserves to be awarded, at the very least, with the Padma Bhushan. The people of West Bengal are delighted that, after so long, intimidation was kept at bay, that there were no incidents of murder during the elections, and people were actually allowed to cast their votes," Bhattacharya told reporters at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district on Friday.
.He claimed that the CEC was instrumental in "cleansing the electoral roll".
"In a border state like West Bengal, Gyanesh Kumar took the initiative to remove the names of Bangladeshi infiltrators from the voter list," Bhattacharya said.
"The people of West Bengal have rarely witnessed an election like this. Therefore, the general public of West Bengal is grateful to Gyanesh Kumar and has blessed him with all their hearts," he added.
‘Bow down to his wisdom’
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha on Saturday took a dig at BJP MP and West Bengal BJP president Samik Bhattacharya over his remark, saying he “bows to his wisdom” amid the ongoing political controversy over the Election Commission.
Speaking to ANI, Jha said that given the BJP leader's “level of wisdom”, he should instead be the first to receive the Bharat Ratna.
“I bow to his 'wisdom,' at the very least. I know Samik ji; he is a BJP member of the Rajya Sabha and also a state president. Given that level of 'wisdom' and in this climate where accounts of theft and dacoity have surfaced, backed by evidence, he should be the first to receive the Bharat Ratna for such a mindset. Only then should anyone else be considered,” Jha said.
Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Tuesday took a swipe at the BJP for the suggestion, saying he should be rewarded with a Bharat Ratna for delivering West Bengal to the party.
"Padma Bhushan? Why stop there? Give him the Bharat Ratna! One or two years left for the presidential election? Make him the President! Now that he has done so much for the BJP. Gifted West Bengal to the BJP. Now, talking about Padma Bhushan, I feel it's a huge injustice to him," Abdullah was quoted by PTI as saying.
Trinamool Congress MP Shatrughan Sinha went a step further, suggesting that it should be Bhattacharya who should get an award.
“I think Samik Bhattacharya, who hasn't gotten anything till now, should get, well, Padma Bhushan is a faraway thing, but at least a ‘Jai Shree or Vijay Shree’ award,” Sinha was quoted by ANI as saying.
The BJP doubles down
The West Bengal BJP doubled down on Samik Bhattacharya’s demand, with a group of party workers putting up posters in Bidhannagar enlisting reasons for the Padma Bhushan demand for CEC Gyanesh Kumar.
"When the Opposition loses an election, they talk about the Constitution being in danger, but when they win, they hail democracy," a BJP worker part of the group told ANI.
