Shock to the Center over Padma awards, all three veterans in Bengal refused to accept the honor
All three people from Bengal included in the honor list of the central government have refused to accept the Padma award. This is a major setback to the BJP government, especially from West Bengal where the party suffered an electoral defeat last year. Former chief minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, a staunch critic of the BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was the first on Tuesday to refuse to accept the honour. After this, two eminent artists of the state, tabla player Pandit Anindya Chatterjee and eminent singer Sandhya Mukhopadhyay have also turned down the Padma award.
90-year-old Sandhya Mukhopadhyay, who has a singing career spanning eight decades, has refused to accept the Padma Shri, the fourth highest civilian honour, saying it is not appropriate for someone of his stature but a junior artiste. Mukhopadhyay’s daughter Soumi Sengupta said that when the call came from Delhi for the award, her mother told the senior officer that she felt “insulted” at being offered the award at this age.
Sengupta said, “Padma Shri deserves more for a junior artiste and not for ‘Geetasree’ Sandhya Mukhopadhyay. This is felt by his family and the lovers of his songs.”
One of Bengal’s finest singers, Sandhya Mukhopadhyay received West Bengal’s highest civilian award “Bang Vibhushan” in 2011, and the National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer in 1970.
Pandit Anindya Chatterjee, who has worked with masters like Pandit Ravi Shankar, Ustad Amjad Ali Khan and Ustad Ali Akbar Khan, also said that he refused to accept it when he got a call from Delhi for the award.
Yesterday Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, who was to be awarded the Padma Bhushan, the third highest civilian award, immediately issued a statement rejecting the honour.
The statement, issued in Bengali, said, “I know nothing about Padma Bhushan. Nobody told me anything about it. If in fact they have given me Padma Bhushan, I reject it.”
Let us tell you that under the protocol, the awardees are informed about the prize in advance and the list is announced only after they have accepted the prize.
