Padma Bhushan to Ghulam Nabi ‘well deserved’: Dr Karan Singh

New Delhi :Amid Congress fissures over the Padma Bhushan being conferred to Ghulam Nabi Azad, senior leader Dr Karan Singh has come out in open support of Azad on Thursday and said he is “distressed” over the unseemly controversy over the “well deserved award” to Azad.
In a statement on Thursday, Dr Karan Singh said, “If one of our colleagues is honoured he should be greeted with appreciation rather than snide remarks.” Dr Karan Singh further said that “these National Awards should not become a subject of inter-party controversy, far less of intra-party ones” adding that he knows Ghulam Nabi for half a century. “I have seen him rise through sheer dint of hard work, dedication and administrative ability to becoming a Cabinet Minister, both with P V Narasimha Rao and Dr Manmohan Singh,” he said. Dr Karan Singh also recalled Azad’s contribution as Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha for seven years and said “he played a positive and constructive role in our Parliamentary system.”
The former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad was part of the group of 23 that was critical of the Congress leadership and sought an overhaul of party organisation. Azad himself has been quoted as saying “these awards are national awards and not from any particular party.” Reacting over Padma Bhushan being conferred to Azad, senior Congress leader and minister in the UPA government Jairam Ramesh took a jibe over Azad. “Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad not Ghulam,” Jairam wrote on Twitter over former West Bengal CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya’s decision to reject the Padma Bhushan conferred upon him. Another senior party leader Kapil Sibal wrote on Twitter, “Ghulam Nabi Azad conferred Padam Bhushan. Congratulations bhaijan… Ironic that the Congress doesn’t need his services when the nation recognises his contributions to public life.”