"He was the messiah of farmers.." says Rashtriya Lok Dal MLA Virpal Rathi on Chaudhary Charan Singh

"Farmers are in a wave of joy. He was the messiah of farmers. Chaudhary Charan Singh has always worked for the welfare of the farmer class, the labor class, and all sections of society. What he has done for everyone, especially farmers, is commendable. Chaudhary Charan Singh has earned the trust and support of the people through his actions," former Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD) MLA, Virpal Rathi said.

When asked about the central government's decision to award Bharat Ratna to Chaudhary Charan Singh, he expressed that the decision is excellent and good.

"It should have been done a long time ago. It's a bit late. I feel that all farmers will be happy with this news," Virpal Rathi said.

Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Friday that former PMs Chaudhary Charan Singh and PV Narasimha Rao will be conferred the Bharat Ratna and, along with them, MS Swaminathan, also known as the father of the green revolution, will also be awarded the country's highest civilian award.

Taking to the social media platform, PM Modi said this honour is dedicated to the former Prime Minister Chaudhary Charan Singh's incomparable contribution to the country.

Several leaders across the country extended greetings upon the grand announcement.

Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar said that he is honoured to inform the Rajya Sabha that Chaudhary Charan Singh, who has been a symbol of honesty and worked for the welfare of farmers, has been awarded the Bharat Ratna.

Chaudhary Charan Singh was born in 1902 at Noorpur in Meerut district of Uttar Pradesh, in a middle class peasant family. He graduated in science in 1923 and did his post-graduation at Agra University in 1925. Also trained in law, he set up practice in Ghaziabad. He shifted to Meerut in 1929 and later joined the Congress. He was first elected to the UP Legislative Assembly in 1937 from Chhaprauli, and represented the constituency in 1946, 1952, 1962 and 1967. He became Parliamentary Secretary in Pandit Govind Ballabh Pant's Government in 1946 and worked in various departments such as Revenue, Medical and Public Health, Justice, Information etc.

In June 1951, he was appointed Cabinet Minister in the State and given charge of the Departments of Justice and Information. Later, he took over as the Minister for Revenue and Agriculture in the Cabinet of Sampurnanand in 1952. When he resigned in April 1959, he was holding charge of the Department of Revenue and Transport. (ANI)