"Will Be A True Tribute To Them": Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal Wants Bharat Ratna For Doctors, Nurses

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him that Bharat Ratna be conferred upon Indian doctors this year. "The country wants this year's Bharat Ratna to be awarded to the 'Indian doctor'. By this, I don't mean a particular person. Doctors, nurses and paramedics in the country should get this honour," Kejriwal wrote to the PM on Sunday, July 4.

Highest Civilian Award

Bharat Ratna is India's highest civilian award. It was last conferred on Former President Pranab Mukherjee, Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupendra Kumar Hazarika in 2019.

In his letter to the Prime Minister, Kejriwal said, "Several doctors and nurses lost their lives fighting Covid. If we confer them the Bharat Ratna, it will be a true tribute to them. Lakhs of doctors have selflessly served people without worrying about their lives, or their families. There is no better way to honour and thank them," reported The Indian Express.

730 Doctors Die Due To COVID

According to the Indian Medical Association records, as many as 730 doctors have died due to COVID during the second wave, which swept the country in April-May this year. As many as 115 doctors died in Bihar followed by Delhi at 109, Uttar Pradesh 79, West Bengal 62, Rajasthan 43, Jharkhand at 39 and Andhra Pradesh at 38.

"If rules do not allow Bharat Ratna to be conferred to a group, I request you to change the rules. The whole country is beholden to its doctors. Every Indian will be happy if they are conferred the Bharat Ratna," he wrote.

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