'Padma Bhushan small thing, make him PM': Cong mocks BJP Bengal chief's praise for CEC

NEW DELHI: Congress leader Pawan Khera on Saturday hit back at West Bengal BJP chief Samik Bhattacharya after the latter said Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar deserved the Padma Bhushan for his role in conducting the state’s recent assembly election and revising the voter list.Reacting to Bhattacharya’s remarks, Khera said, "The Padma Bhushan is a very small thing. Make him the Prime Minister. After all, a person who can make others Prime Minister should be made one himself."Bhattacharya had earlier praised the CEC while speaking to reporters at Panihati in North 24 Parganas district, saying the CEC deserved the Padma Bhushan "at the very least". He credited Kumar with ensuring a violence-free election in West Bengal and with "cleansing" the electoral roll by removing illegal Bangladeshi immigrants."Gyanesh Kumar deserves to be awarded, at the very least, with the Padma Bhushan.