Centre rejected Kerala's Padma list. Modi-Pinarayi tussle to blame?

Centre rejected Kerala's Padma award recommendation. Modi-Pinarayi tussle to blame?
Kerala had recommended 56 eminent personalities for the Padma awards. The list was sent in August last year.

In yet another instance of tussle between Narendra Modi and Pinarayi Vijayan, the centre had rejected Kerala's recommendations for the prestigious Padma awards this year.

Kerala had recommended 56 eminent personalities for the Padma awards. The list was sent in August last year.

Surprisingly, the selection committee, constituted by the Prime Minister, did not pick even a single person from the list.

Instead, it conferred Padma awards to six other persons from Kerala.

Padma Bhushan was conferred on spiritual leader Sri M, legal expert Prof N R Madhava Menon. Padma Shri was awarded to social worker M K Kunhol, scientist K S Mani Lal, writer N Chandrashekharan Nair, traditional puppetry artist M S Pankajakshi.

It was not clear how the panel picked the awardees.

The rejection will have a lot of political ramifications as Kerala has always been in the forefront of opposing the centre. Of late, the state demanded centre to withdraw the controversial Citizenship Amendment Act.

Kerala's list

The Kerala government had recommended Padma Vibhushan for noted writer M T Vasudevan Nair and Padma Bhushan for eight, including film stars Mammootty, Madhu and Shobhana.

It recommended Padma Shri for 47, including Artist Namboodiri, cartoonist E P Unny, Bishop Soosa Packiam, film stars Nedumudi Venu, KPAC Lalitha, cancer treatment expert Dr V P Gangadharan and footballer I M Vijayan.

Who got Padma awards this time?

The centre conferred Padma awards on 141 persons this year. Former union ministers Arun Jaitley, Sushma Swaraj and George Fernandes – all of whom died in 2019 – were posthumously awarded the Padma Vibhushan.

Notable recipients of the Padma Vibhushan included boxer MC Mary Kom and classical singer Chhannulal Mishra. Some of the winners of the Padma Bhushan honour were Jammu and Kashmir politician Muzaffar Hussain Baig, industrialist Anand Mahindra and sportsperson PV Sindhu.

Selection process

The Padma awards are one of the highest civilian honours of the country. It is announced every year on the eve of the Republic Day. The awards are given in three categories, viz a viz, Padma Vibhushan (for exceptional and distinguished service), Padma Bhushan (distinguished service of higher order) and Padma Shri (distinguished service).

The awards are announced by the Padma award committee, a panel constituted by the Prime Minister, after considering the recommendations from the state governments.

Here is the list sent by Kerala government:

Padma Vibhushan: M T Vasudevana Nair (literature)

Padma Bhushan: Kalamandalam Gopi Asan (Kathakali), Mammooty (cinema), Sugathakumari (literature and social work), Mattannoor Sankaranakutty (art), Rasool Pookutty (cinema), Madhu (cinema), Sobhana (cinema), Pervanam Kuttan Marar (Chenda).

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