TMC MP Haque demands Bharat Ratna for Sunita Williams in Rajya Sabha

Rajya Sabha TMC member Mohammed Nadimul Haque on Wednesday demanded Bharat Ratna for Indian-origin NASA astronaut Sunita Williams who returned to Earth on March 18 after more than nine months in space. During his submission in Zero Hour in the House, he also made certain remarks about a late BJP leader from Gujarat, which were later expunged by the chair after Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman and other members of BJP objected to the same.

Deputy Chairman Harivansh, who was presiding the session, said irrelevant parts from Haque's speech would be removed.

While demanding Bharat Ratna for Williams (59), Haque said her success has always been celebrated in India. "Giving her Bharat Ratna would be the ultimate celebration."


Haque mentioned that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had also demanded that Williams be conferred with Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, as a befitting tribute for her remarkable achievement.

Williams' achievement would make ISRO proud, Haque said, and added that great institutions were built before 2014.

"We demand Bharat Ratna for a super achiever with strong Indian and Gujarati root," he said.

The TMC member further said Williams was honoured during her visit to India in 2007.

She was also conferred with the Padma Bhushan award by the then central government. He, however alleged that the then Gujarat government did not felicitate her.

"A few days ago she expressed her desire to visit her father's home country and their ancestral village. She comes from Mehsana district of Gujarat from where Prime Minister Modi hails," Haque said.

He continued to make some references to a late BJP leader from Gujarat, which was not allowed by the chair.

Intervening, Sitharaman said, "It's one thing to ask for Bharat Ratna for someone and as meritorious as Sunita Williams but in the process to cast aspersions, bringing unrelated (issues) in the picture, also bringing in people who are no longer with us, unfortunately who passed away, are all absolutely uncalled for."

She demanded "that portion of the member's speech" be completely taken out of records.

"...all of us would be happy to consider Bharat Ratna or other things but in no way reference to any person who are no longer alive and casting aspersions on prime minister should be entertained here," the finance minister said.

To this, Deputy Chairman Harivansh said the irrelevant portions will be removed from records.

NASA astronauts Williams, Nick Hague and Butch Wilmore, and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov, returned to Earth last month onboard SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft, which splashed down in the sea off the coast of Tallahassee, Florida.

For Williams and Wilmore, test pilots for Boeing's new Starliner capsule, an eight-day mission stretched to more than nine months as a series of helium leaks and thruster failures deemed their spacecraft unsafe. The spacecraft returned without them in September.