Padma awards were in news last week, even before they were announced. Names of possible winners started doing the round and Baba Rmdev and Sri Sri Ravishankar declined it even before formal announcement., But now in a new twist, the Ministry of Home Affairs(MHA) has said that Yoga Guru Ramdev Baba's name was never shortlisted for the Padma Awards!
Ramdev Baba, who was apparently considered for a Padma Vibhushan, had written a letter to MHA refusing to accept the Award.
The letter reportedly said, "I thank the Centre for this... I am a sanyasi and I consider it my sacred duty to work selflessly towards my sanyas dharma, along with rashtra dharma and seva dharma. I want to request you... to confer this honour to any other great personality."
But in a shocking clarification, a Home Ministry official has said to a daily that Baba Ramdev's name was never shortlisted for it.
"His name was not on the shortlist and did not feature at any earlier stage of discussions," the senior official reportedly said.
Reports say that Home Minister Rajnath Singh himself called up a few personalities and intimated them of the news. But Ramdev Baba was not called up by Singh. Actor Amitabh Bachchan and spiritual guru Sri Sri Ravishankar Raval spoke to Rajnath Singh when Sri Sri politely declined the Award and said that somebody else should be considered for this honour. The MHA official added that Baba Ramdev sent them a later based on media reports, not a verified communication.
Baba Ramdev's aide has a different story to tell. He said that when media reports were doing rounds about his nomination for the Padma Awards, the government never denied it. This apparent acceptance from the government's side naturally led them to believe that Baba Ramdev's name was shortlisted. Although, the aide confirmed that there was no official communication from the government regarding the Padma Awards.
