Indian President Droupadi Murmu confers Bharat Ratna to two former PMs, BJP veteran Advani, and others

Indian President Droupadi Murmu on Saturday (Mar 30) conferred the Bharat Ratna to five eminent personalities- former prime ministers Chaudhary Charan Singh and PVNarasimha Rao, veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former deputy prime minister LK Advani, eminent agricultural scientist and architect of Green Revolution MS Swaminathan, and former Bihar chief minister Karpoori Thakur.

Chaudhary Charan Singh, PV Narasimha Rao, Karpoori Thakur, and MS Swaminathan were given the award posthumously. While, the award to LK Advani was conferred at his residence on Sunday.

The President's Secretariat said that the Change of Guard Ceremony did not happen at Rashtrapati Bhavan due to the Bharat Ratna presentation ceremony.

The Bharat Ratna for Karpoori Thakur was received by his son Ram Nath Thakur. "I am very happy. The government of India acknowledged his work and gave him this award. On behalf of the country, I express my gratitude towards PM Modi for conferring the highest civilian honour on him," Thakur told the news agency ANI

For MS Swaminathan, the award was received by her daughter Nitya Rao. And for former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh, the award was received by his grandson and Rajya Sabha MP Jayant Chaudhary whose Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) recently joined the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA).

What is Bharat Ratna?

Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award. It was instituted in the year 1954. According to the Union home ministry, Bharat Ratna is awarded in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order in any field of human endeavour.

The recommendations for Bharat Ratna are made by the PM to the President. No formal recommendations for this are necessary.

(With inputs from agencies)