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New Delhi:
The BJP has distanced itself from Member of Parliament Chandan Mitra's controversial comment that economist Amartya Sen should be stripped of his Bharat Ratna. But it might find it a struggle to enforce that official line in its ranks.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman's tweet today made it clear that the party wanted no part of Mr Mitra's comment. She said, "Bharat Ratna debate -unfortunate. BJP is not a part of it.Views expressed by member/s can only be construed as their personal opinion."
Mr Mitra, a Rajya Sabha MP and journalist, had tweeted two days ago, "Amartya Sen says he doesn't want Modi to be India's PM. Is Sen even a voter in India? Next NDA government must strip him of Bharat Ratna." A heated debate on Mr Sen's comments questioning Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's secular credentials was yet to fade and Mr Mitra had opened a new front.
The Congress has gone for the jugular, with Union Minister Manish Tewari saying, "What kind of a mentality is this? If this is not fascism, then what is?" And his colleague Shashi Tharoor said, "There is no question of taking the Bharat Ratna back."
KC Tyagi of the Janata Dal United, recently parted from the BJP and since then its sharpest critic, has slammed the remark too. "Asking for the Bharat Ratna to be returned is very shameful and condemnable," he said.
But Chandan Mitra was not the only BJP leader to make such a statement. Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad said, "Amartya Sen has got the most reputed award...I don't think a person who indulges himself in such imaginary accusations must be given such a noble award; they should consider taking it back."
The party's Rajiv Pratap Rudy refused comment on Mr Mitra's tweet, but did say, "I am very struck at his statement because it is rather judgmental and one that an Economist and a Nobel Prize winner should refrain from making...Mr Modi is the heart beat of the nation now and I am sure he may have some bias, but such a statement...is rather unacceptable to the BJP.
BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman's tweet today made it clear that the party wanted no part of Mr Mitra's comment. She said, "Bharat Ratna debate -unfortunate. BJP is not a part of it.Views expressed by member/s can only be construed as their personal opinion."
Mr Mitra, a Rajya Sabha MP and journalist, had tweeted two days ago, "Amartya Sen says he doesn't want Modi to be India's PM. Is Sen even a voter in India? Next NDA government must strip him of Bharat Ratna." A heated debate on Mr Sen's comments questioning Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi's secular credentials was yet to fade and Mr Mitra had opened a new front.
The Congress has gone for the jugular, with Union Minister Manish Tewari saying, "What kind of a mentality is this? If this is not fascism, then what is?" And his colleague Shashi Tharoor said, "There is no question of taking the Bharat Ratna back."
KC Tyagi of the Janata Dal United, recently parted from the BJP and since then its sharpest critic, has slammed the remark too. "Asking for the Bharat Ratna to be returned is very shameful and condemnable," he said.
But Chandan Mitra was not the only BJP leader to make such a statement. Lok Sabha MP Kirti Azad said, "Amartya Sen has got the most reputed award...I don't think a person who indulges himself in such imaginary accusations must be given such a noble award; they should consider taking it back."
The party's Rajiv Pratap Rudy refused comment on Mr Mitra's tweet, but did say, "I am very struck at his statement because it is rather judgmental and one that an Economist and a Nobel Prize winner should refrain from making...Mr Modi is the heart beat of the nation now and I am sure he may have some bias, but such a statement...is rather unacceptable to the BJP.
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