Charanjit Singh Channi seeks Bharat Ratna for Manmohan Singh

NEW DELHI: Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday demanded in the Lok Sabha that the government confer Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, even as he lamented that the cremation of the late leader had to be done at a public crematorium as no land was then allotted for the purpose.

Participating in the debate on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, he said "the seeds of hatred are being sown" in the country and the government must "stop discriminating against minorities". Criticising activities of RSS, he referred to an earlier government notification that had barred government officials from joining the Sangh. BJP MPs objected to his remark. Deploring home minister Amit Shah's recent remarks about BR Ambedkar, Channi said "history will remember Babasaheb Ambedkar as the father of the Constitution".