Andhra Pradesh Congress Committee on Tuesday came up with a curious proposal: Padma Vibhushan award for Ayodhya litigant Mohammad Hashim Ansari.
PCC General Secretary Rapolu Ananda Bhaskar wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh requesting him to consider awarding Padma Vibhushan to Mohammad Hashim Ansari, the oldest litigant in the Ayodhya title suit, as the latter deserved it for his initiative to resolve the issue through negotiations.
As part of efforts to find an out-of-the-court settlement, 90-year-old Ansari had met Mahant Gyan Das, president of the Akhil Bhartiya Akhara Parishad, and held talks over ways to explore an amicable solution. "The spontaneous gesture and continuing efforts of Hashim Ansari deserve prompt recognition," Ananda Bhaskar said in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
“On behalf of humble thinking class of my generation and younger generations, I earnestly request you to consider Ansari’s name for the Gandhi Peace Prize, Padma Vibhushan and also to recommend his name for international peace and harmony awards such as Raman Magsaysay and Nobel peace prize," the Congress leader said.
He addressed similar letters to UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, Vice President Hamid Ansari, Union Home Minister P Chidambaram and AICC general secretary Rahul Gandhi.
