Government orders 5 Bharat Ratna medallions from RBI mint

NEW DELHI: The government is learnt to have ordered five Bharat Ratna medallions from the RBI mint, escalating speculation that the highest civilian honour may be awarded to more than one person around or after this Independence Day.

According to sources, the ministry of home affairs requisitioned the medallions from the RBI earlier this week.

The development coincides with a strong buzz that the government might plan to confer Bharat Ratna on former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

That the government has called for five medallions does not necessarily mean that there will be as many beneficiaries this time around. For, the government is known to keep at least a couple of these in reserve.

However, this has fuelled speculation in political circles that the number of Bharat Ratna beneficiaries this year may be more than just one.

There has been talk that, apart from Vajpayee, the Narendra Modi government may like to bestow the recognition on Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose. The feeling in the Sangh Parivar is that the charismatic nationalist never not got his due, with successive Congress governments keen to ensure that the spotlight remained on the Nehru-Gandhi family.

Many in Sangh Parivar also feel that it was high time that late Madan Mohan Malviya, founder of the Benaras Hindu University (BHU) and a Hindu nationalist leader who led a campaign for allowing dalits' entry into temples while also being an authority on Hindu rituals, is recognized.

Their list of deserving beneficiaries include Hanuman Prasad Poddar, founder of the Gita Press who popularized Hindu epics and along with the legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma, is considered to have done for Hinduism what Gutenberg Press did for the Bible.

When ace cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was awarded the Bharat Ratna this year, he was given a medallion lying in reserve. It was polished and given to him. Incidentally, Tendulkar's Bharat Ratna had led to queries about celebrated hockey player Dhyanchand also being considered for the highest civilian honour. It remains to be seen if the honour will finally be conferred on the latter.

There is also a demand for Bharat Ratna for the late Kanshi Ram. Though he was the BSP founder, a view in the BJP is that honouring him will enhance the BJP's appeal among dalits.