On Friday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh would be honored with the highest civilian honor in India, the Bharat Ratna. Besides Singh, former PM PV Narasimha Rao and agricultural scientist MS Swaminathan will also receive the top honor.
“We are fortunate to see former prime minister Chaudhary Charan Singh being conferred with the Bharat Ratna. This honour is dedicated to his contribution to the country. He dedicated his entire life for the rights of farmers and their welfare,” PM Modi said in an X post.
“He always expedited nation building during his stints as Uttar Pradesh chief minister, Union home minister and even as a legislator. He fought against the Emergency. His dedication towards the farmers and commitment to democracy is an inspiration for all of us,” the prime minister added.
What was Chaudhary Charan Singh’s background?
- Chaudhary Charan Singh was born in 1902 into a middle class farmer family in Meerut. Singh attended Agra University and graduated in law.
- Singh entered politics with the Congress party and was first elected to the Uttar Pradesh assembly in 1937 from Chhaprauli, and was subsequently re-elected in 1946, 1952, 1962, and 1967.
- Chaudhary Charan Singh worked in several departments before being appointed a cabinet minister for justice and information in 1951 in Govind Ballabh Pant’s government.
- In 1967, he left the Congress and became the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh for the first time as the leader of the Sanyukta Vidhayak Dal coalition. In 1970, he became chief minister once again.
- The Congress (I) extended support to Chaudhary Charan Singh who took oath as prime minister on July 28, 1979, after the Jana Sangh (BJP’s predecessor) pulled out of the Morarji Desai-led Janata Party government after 18 months. However, Indira Gandhi withdrew support to Singh’s government before he could prove his majority. He remained as caretaker PM until January 14, 1980.
हमारी सरकार का यह सौभाग्य है कि देश के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री चौधरी चरण सिंह जी को भारत रत्न से सम्मानित किया जा रहा है। यह सम्मान देश के लिए उनके अतुलनीय योगदान को समर्पित है। उन्होंने किसानों के अधिकार और उनके कल्याण के लिए अपना पूरा जीवन समर्पित कर दिया था। उत्तर प्रदेश के… pic.twitter.com/gB5LhaRkIv
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 9, 2024
