BJP leader L K Advani may have triggered a new round of whispers in the Sangh Parivar with his demand for Bharat Ratna for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, but the pandora’s box that he opened will trouble the UPA Government much more. For the Congress has been tactfully avoiding any fresh discussion on the country’s highest civilian honour, which has not been awarded since 2001.

With Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati demanding Bharat Ratna for Kanshi Ram today, the floodgate has finally been breached. It is not easy for Congress to say a definite no to Maya as she is chipping on to Congress Dalits’ base in several key states. The Congress has avoided a direct response to the demands from both the BJP and the BSP, but there are other equally sensitive demands pending.

The Congress’s own Dalit mascot Babu Jagjivan Ram is not a Bharat Ratna. Ram’s daughter Union Minister Meira Kumar is lobbying hard for honouring her father in his birth centenary year. The centenary celebration committee comprising V P Singh, R Venkatraman and I K Gujral has written to the Prime Minister and Congress president Sonia Gandhi to award Jagjivan Ram this year.

She is supported by another powerful ally in the UPA, Ramvilas Paswan, who has a longer list. In early 2006, Paswan wrote to the Prime Minister demanding Bharat Ratna for legendary singer Mohd Rafi and 19th century social reformer Jyotibha Phule.

Currently on a foreign trip, Paswan plans to raise the issue again this week in the light of the fresh developments. The small but influential interest groups across the country may now discover Bharat Ratna as a new symbol of empowerment.

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