Former West Bengal Chief Minister and veteran CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee on Tuesday rejected the Padma Bhushan award. “I don’t know anything about this award. Nobody told me anything about it. If they have decided to give me the Padma Bhushan, I refuse to accept it,” he said in a statement.
According to CPI(M) sources, it was a decision of Bhattacharjee and the party as well.
On the eve of the 73rd Republic Day, the Center announced the list of Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri awardees.
Former Uttar Pradesh chief minister and Hindutva poster boy late Kalyan Singh and India’s first Chief of Defense Staff General Bipin Rawat, who died in a helicopter crash recently, were awarded the Padma Vibhushan on Tuesday, while Congress’s Veteran leader Ghulam Nabi Azad and CPI(M) leader Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee were awarded the Padma Bhushan.
The Center announced that Tokyo Olympics gold medalist Neeraj Chopra will be honored with the Padma Shri.
Vandana Kataria, who was a part of the Indian women’s hockey team that finished fourth at the Tokyo Olympics, will also be honored with the Padma Shri award.
Former Indian footballer and captain Brahmanand Sankhwalkar will also be honored with Padma Shri. He played in the team as a goalkeeper.
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