P.D. Tandon: Won Bharat Ratna in 1961 well after fading away from active politics following a rift with Nehru. This was Nehru's olive branch to the ex-Congress chief.
P.D. Tandon: Won Bharat Ratna in 1961 well after fading away from active politics following a rift with Nehru. This was Nehru's olive branch to the ex-Congress chief.
V.V. Giri: The last president to win the Bharat Ratna (1975). Known to have always put Indira before India.
M.G. Ramachandran: Posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna by the Rajiv Gandhi government before the 1988 TN assembly polls.
Morarji Desai: Accepted the Bharat Ratna from the Chandra Shekhar government in 1991, but, as prime minister, had written to civilian award winners to return their awards.
Rajiv Gandhi: Posthumously awarded Bharat Ratna at special investiture ceremony in 1991 soon after his assassination and not very long before Maulana Azad's award was despatched by post.
R.K. Khanna: Honorary secretary of All-India Lawn Tennis Association has won both the Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan, while the country's greatest players, Ramanathan Krishnan and Vijay Amritraj, have merited no more than a Padma Shri.
The Bofors Crusaders: V.P. Singh's government gave Padma Bhushans in 1990 to staunch supporters T.N. Chaturvedi, Arun Shourie, N. Ram and Nikhil Chakravartty, none of whose professional credentials were ever in doubt, for their role in keeping the Bofors kickbacks scandal alive in the public mind. Chakravartty turned down the award.
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