Senior Congress leader Mallikarjun Kharge is in a soup for slamming the government for not conferring the Bharat Ratna on the spiritual leader Shivakumar Swami, who passed away recently and instead ‘choosing a singer’ Bhupen Hazarika and ‘man who propagated RSS ideology’ Nanaji Deshmukh for the honour. Raju Mahanta, an RTI activist, has filed a complaint alleging that Kharge has hurt the sentiments of Assamese people. A case has been filed at Morigaon Police Station.
Mahanta is also the president of ‘Sahai’, a socio-cultural organisation of central Assam. He felt that the comments passed by Kharge were objectionable and he should apologise for the same. Kharge had criticised the government for not giving the award to the Lingayat seer Shivakumar Swami who had passed away on 21st January.
Kharge had said that the government had seen Shivakumar Swami’s work and even then the government didn’t give him the award. “A singer and a man who propagates their RSS ideology have also been awarded. If you compare all of them, then Shivakumar Swami ji should have been given the award,” he had said.
