TN CM greets Pranab Mukherjee on being conferred Bharat Ratna

: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami Saturday extended his greetings to former President Pranab Mukherjee on being conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour.

He said Mukherjee had worked selflessly for the welfare of the nation and held several significant ministerial portfolios.

Mukherjee also served as the President and served the people of the country skillfully, he added.

"I extend my hearty congratulations to you on being selected to receive the Bharat Ratna on behalf of the people of Tamil Nadu," Palaniswami said in an official release.

The former President along with Bharatiya Jana Sangh leader Nanaji Deshmukh and singer Bhupen Hazarika, were on Friday chosen for the Bharat Ratna.

Mukherjee (83), who was also known as the quintessential Man Friday of the Congress, joins the elite club of former presidents Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, Rajendra Prasad, Zakir Hussain, V V Giri and A P J Abdul Kalam, who had also been conferred the coveted award.

Mukherjee became India's youngest finance minister in 1982 at the age of 47. From 2004, he went on to head three important ministries - External Affairs, Defence and Finance -and became the first occupant of the Rashtrapati Bhavan to have this distinction.