There is speculation that the government may have shortlisted five names for Bharat Ratna awards including former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, Madan Mohan Malviya, Kanshi Ram and Major Dhyanchand. But even before some or all of those names are formally announced, a big controversy has broken out. While the BJP says many important icons have been ignored by previous regimes, the Congress wants to know why the NDA is delving deep into history to select its candidates. So is this an honour that's way overdue for some of India's biggest icons or is it competitive awards politics?
