Importance of award is when rival party honours: Raj Babbar on Azad's award

Amid internal rumblings within the Congress over Ghulam Nabi Azad being awarded Padma Bhushan, Congress leader Raj Babbar took a dig at those criticising Azad within the party, saying the importance of an award is when the rival party honours the achievements of a leader as people can fulfil any wish when it is their own government.

His remarks come amid speculation over his political future and talk that he is in touch with the Samajwadi Party for a possible switch ahead of Uttar Pradesh assembly polls.

"The importance of an award is when the rival party honours the achievements of a leader -- people can fulfil any wish when it is their own government," Babbar said in a tweet in Hindi on Thursday.

"I think the ongoing debate about Padma Bhushan is unnecessary," he said.

The comments by Babbar, who was among the group of 23 leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi demanding an organisational overhaul in the Congress, come amid a controversy triggered soon after the announcement of the Padma awards on Tuesday evening when Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, while commenting on CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharya's refusal to accept the award, said, "He wants to be Azad not Ghulam".

Several members of the group of 23 leaders who had written to Sonia Gandhi demanding an organisational overhaul in the Congress congratulated Azad for being awarded Padma Bhushan, saying it was "well-deserved".