Padma award nominations accepted past cut- off date

Another controversy has reared its head over this year’s list of Padma awardees. If an official version is to be believed, the recommendations for as many as 21 of the 128 awardees were received by the ministry of home affairs ( MHA) after the cut- off date. It also included persons holding positions in the government, even though it was decided in 2008 that serving government officials would not be considered.

The Padma Awards are given for distinguished service in any field, including government service. As many as 216 recommendations were sent to the ministry after the last day for submission — November 11, 2010.

This came to light in response to an RTI application by Subhash Chandra Agrawal. The home ministry’s reply shows 21 awardees were accommodated after the deadline.

But in its reply, the ministry claimed the committee is “ empowered to recommend persons for Padma awards even after the cut- off date.” An exception had been made to the decision to not include persons currently holding government positions for Planning Commission deputy chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia, Agrawal had pointed out.

But the MHA claimed Ahluwalia’s position, “ equivalent to the rank of a cabinet minister” excluded him from the embargo. “ He has been approved for his achievements in ‘ public affairs’,” it added.