New Delhi: Shiv Sena, a key ally of the Congress, on Wednesday frowned upon attempts by a section of leaders of the grand old party to target Ghulam Nabi Azad for accepting the Padma Bhushan award conferred by the government.
Calling someone Azad for declining a national honour and Ghulam for accepting it, shows how shallow one’s thought is towards a national honour, Shiv Sena leader and Rajya Sabha member Priyanka Chaturvedi said on Twitter.
“This isn’t the first nor the last time that opposition leaders will be acknowledged for their work, please maintain that spirit and dignity,” Chaturvedi, who quit the Congress to join the Shiv Sena, said.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh had taken a swipe at Azad, whose differences with the Congress leadership are well known, for accepting the Padma Bhushan honour.
Referring to former West Bengal chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee’s refusal to accept the Padma Bhushan, Ramesh had suggested that Azad follow suit.
“Right thing to do. He wants to be Azad not Ghulam,” Ramesh had said on Twitter.
Another former Congress leader Sushmita Dev also hit back at Ramesh wondering whether the Padma Bhushan honour for former Assam chief minister late Tarun Gogoi or the Bharat Ratna to former President late Pranab Mukherjee also made them ‘Ghulams’.
“Padma Bhushan for Tarun Gogoi and Bharat Ratna for Pranab Mukherjee – does it make them Ghulams,” asked Dev, a Rajya Sabha member from Trinamool Congress.