Jyoti Basu can be given Bharat Ratna, says Left

After senior BJP leader proposed former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee’s name for Bharat Ratna, the CPM said party partiarch Jyoti Basu can be given the honour if he fulfills the parameters.

Asked whether Basu should be awarded the Bharat Ratna, CPM Politburo member Biman Bose said, “I don’t know whether Basu fulfils the parameters. If he fulfils it, Basu can be given the highest civilian award.”

Bose flayed senior BJP leader L K Advani writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh proposing the honour for Vajpayee saying the saffron party was ‘playing politics’ with the country’s highest civilian award.

“I don’t know the parameters under which Bharat Ratna is awarded or whether Vajpayee fulfils that criteria. But it is definite that they are doing politics over it,” Bose said.