The Congress and different Opposition events have been referring to Gadkari’s reward for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at an awards ceremony on Tuesday. At the event, the Union minister praised Singh for introducing the 1991 financial reforms. Gadkari stated on the TIOL Awards 2022 occasion, “Liberal economy ke karan desh ko nayee disha mili, uske liye Manmohan Singh ka desh reeni hai (The country is indebted to Manmohan Singh for liberalising the economy and giving it a new direction).”

Congress basic secretary and communications in-charge Jairam Ramesh on Wednesday tweeted, “On 16th September, madam Finance minister had belittled 1991 reforms by terming it ‘half-baked’. Yesterday, the Masterchef Gadkari has baked it fully and well by paying fulsome tributes to Dr Manmohan Singh for the 1991 economic reforms. I hope she can digest it now.”

On sixteenth September, Madam Finance Minister had belittled 1991 reforms by terming it ‘half-baked’. Yesterday, the MasterChef Gadkari has baked it absolutely and effectively by paying fulsome tributes to Dr. Manmohan Singh for the 1991 financial reforms. I hope she will digest it now.

— Jairam Ramesh (@Jairam_Ramesh) November 9, 2022

Former Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha tweeted: “If @nitin_gadkari was the BJP choice for Prime Minister, India’s political culture would not be toxic. Or as confrontational.”

Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) MLA Rohit Pawar stated his respect for Gadkari had elevated “further as a cultured face in politics and a firm leader who accepted facts with a big heart”. The NCP’s Pune president Prashant Sudamrao Jagtap known as Gadkari a “square peg in a round hole”.

Saying that “Gadkari ji’s image in the country is that of a good honest minister”, Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha of the Congress tweeted that Gadkari “believes in giving respect to the Opposition”. He added, “There is no hesitation in sharing the stage with such a person, both of us aim for the country and society.”

देश मे गडकरी जी की छवि एक अच्छे ईमानदार मंत्री की है, वह विपक्ष को सम्मान देने में विश्वास करते हैं,ऐसे व्यक्ति के साथ मंच शेयर करने में तनिक भी झिझक महसूस नही होती,हम दोनों का लक्ष्य देश और समाज है। ⁦@OfficeOfNG⁩ ⁦@nitin_gadkari⁩ pic.twitter.com/cMakeSOC5n

— Vivek Tankha (@VTankha) November 9, 2022

Trinamool Congress’s (TMC) Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar stated, “Good to hear Manmohan Singh being acknowledged by the BJP, but ⁦@nitin_gadkari⁩ has always been quite above pettiness.”

The Congress Seva Dal tweeted, “Not just people in Congress, but the entire nation is indebted to former PM Dr Manmohan Singh for the reforms he has brought to the country and accelerated the economic growth of the country. Thank you Dr Manmohan Singh!”

A ‘single star’

This isn’t the primary time Gadkari’s political rivals have had good issues to say about him. During a debate on the Motor Vehicles (Amendment) Bill, 2016, in April 2017 a number of Congress leaders complimented him.

At the time, Congress chief KC Venugopal stated Gadkari was a really “sincere” minister who had tried exhausting to handle main challenges dealing with the street transport sector.

Biju Janata Dal (BJD) member Tathagata Satpathy stated Gadkari was a “hard-working person” who was decided to show that good work might be executed even when the federal government was dangerous. “Even in the darkest of night, a single star looks bright,” he remarked.

Mallikarjun Kharge, then the chief of the Opposition within the Lok Sabha, former TMC chief Dinesh Trivedi (now within the BJP) and some different Opposition members additionally complimented Gadkari for his spectacular efficiency, bringing a broad smile on the minister’s face.

Kharge, whereas complimenting Gadkari, pointed to the empty treasury benches, suggesting the minister’s social gathering colleagues didn’t worth his exhausting work as a lot as they have been absent when through the dialogue of an essential Bill by him.

(With inputs from PTI)