‘A little delayed… he was ignored’: Narasimha Rao’s daughter on Bharat Ratna

Devi, a Bharat Rashtra Samithi MLC in the Telangana Legislative Council, said the honour for her father was a “little delayed”.

“It is a little delayed, we feel, but nonetheless we welcome it. People talk about his contributions to the nation, but we feel that he was ignored. I am very thankful to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for recognising what a great person my father P V Narasimha Rao was. Modi understands that the path of progress and economic reforms that India is on now was set by P V Narasimha Rao, and this is a great recognition for the services he provided to this nation,” she said.

Without mentioning Congress party, to which her father belonged, Devi said family members had been hurt that he was ignored and that his contributions to the nation were brushed aside for many years.

Rao’s grandson, N V Subhash, who is a member of the BJP, did not mince his words. “It is an emotional moment for me and the entire family of P V Narasimha Rao. The Congress party not only ignored him, but the Gandhi family made him the scapegoat for all the Congress party’s failures. Leave alone giving him any award, he has been insulted and sidelined. All the benefits that the Congress accrued from him were attributed to the Gandhi family, while all the failures have been attributed to Narasimha Rao. Thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who understands the significance of his contribution to this nation,” he said.

Residents of Laknepally village celebrating P V Narasimha Rao’s Bharat Ratna win. (Express)

In Laknepally village in Warangal district’s Narasampet, where Rao was born, residents burst firecrackers and distributed sweets when the news of the Bharat Ratna announcement came in. “We gathered at the P V Trust building, which is run by the family, and celebrated the great honour bestowed on the son of this village. It is a proud moment for all of us,” said sarpanch Rambabu Godishala. Rao was born in this village on June 28, 1921, but his family later moved to Karimnagar.

In June 2020, the then BRS government in the state had announced a year-long centenary celebration of Narasimha Rao. Then chief minister K Chandrashekar Rao had announced various programmes honouring and celebrating the late PM, who died in 2004. In June 2019, a 26-foot tall statue of the former PM was unveiled at PV Gnana Bhoomi, on Necklace Road in Hyderabad.