Punjab unit of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday demanded country’s highest civilian award, Bharat Ratna, for Bhagat Puran Singh running the Pingalwara Trust at Amritsar.
Taking a cue from bestowing sainthood to Mother Teresa, the party demanded that Bhagat Puran should also be awarded for his “selfless service rendered to the society”. He was awarded Padmashri in 1992, “but it is still under value to his work, read the letter written by Punjab BJP secretary Subhash Sharma to the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
He said: “Both Mother Teresa and Bhagat Puran Singh ji will inspire the generations to come forward and put society at fore. We all know stories about Mother. but Bhagat ji was no less. But it is our misgiving that Pingalwara didn't get the same attention of the world and philanthropists, and even our politicians. If Government of India confer the highest civilian award to this soul, it would undo some of our sins.”
Sharma pointed that Bhagat ji took little help from anyone to establish Pingalwara, which is now “home to the castaways of society, the sick, disabled and abandoned forlorn people”.
Concluding, Sharma urged Modi that it would be an honour for the people of Amritsar, Punjab and the downtrodden, “if your government decides to confer him with this award. It would be like rewarding the state, which is known for sacrifices and hard work”.