THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Union Tribal Affairs Minister Juel Oram has said that Minister A K Balan must publicly tender an apology for insulting Padma award winner Lakshmikutty Amma.

He said that Lakshmikutty Amma was honoured with the Padma Award for her contributions in traditional medicines, and insulting her was regretful.

Speaking at the Assembly, Minister A K Balan had earlier severely criticised the Central government rejecting the list of Padma Award nominees forwarded by the state government. He took a jibe at the Padma Award winners by saying that if an award can be constituted for astrology and palmistry, he himself would nominate his name for it.

He was responding to the submission by K S Sabarinathan MLA seeking to provide a traditional healthcare centre for Lekshmikutty Amma who won the Padmashree fir traditional medicines.

He had added that though he appreciates Lekshmikutty Amma for winning the coveted award, her name was not in the list of nominees submitted by the state government.