NEW DELHI: Chief minister
Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday wrote to Prime Minister
Narendra Modi seeking the country’s highest civilian honour,
Bharat Ratna
, for environmentalist
Sunderlal Bahuguna
.
The CM had made the same demand while commemorating the legacy of Bahuguna at Delhi assembly where the government had installed a portrait and a stone in his memory. Bahuguna died on May 21, 2021.
During the ceremony, Kejriwal had said that it was now that people were realising the importance of Bahuguna’s foresight. “We realise that if we continue to tamper with the environment, there will be a time when the entire humankind will cease to exist. We are at a stage that it is imperative for us to follow the principles laid down by him through his constant struggle.
In his letter Kejriwal said, when the cause of environmental protection was not a part of international discourse, Bahuguna foresaw the threat and dedicated his life to it. The CM stressed on the significance of Bahuguna’s Chipko movement and how it spread from Himalayas to Karnataka.
“Bahuguna understood the message that humankind is making a mistake by considering nature as its private property” the chief minister added.