Padma Bhushan for Azad a political decision, not on merit: Congress leader Veerappa Moily

Senior Congress leader M Veerappa Moily said on Thursday (January 27) that the Narendra Modi government’s decision to confer Padma Bhushan on Ghulam Nabi Azad was a political one and not based on merit.

Moily said that the former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister should not accept the award if he thinks that it harms the interest of the Congress party.

“Narendra Modi took a political decision,” Moily told PTI in Bengaluru. “They have taken a decision politically; not weighing on any merit or otherwise. Now, it is for him (Azad) to take a decision (on whether to accept or decline the award),” he said.

Also read: Padma Bhushan for Azad draws criticism from veretan Cong men, praise from G-23

The former Union Minister, who was among the Congress group of 23 leaders who wrote to the party chief Sonia Gandhi in 2020 seeking internal reforms, said that Azad should think whether it is in the interest of the party or not before accepting it.

Noting that Azad is a senior member of the Congress who had also served as Union Minister, the former Karnataka Chief Minister said that the leader has to weigh the pros and cons on whether accepting the award will harm the interest of the party.

(With inputs from Agencies)