Buddhadeb Bhattacharya (Express Archive) Former West Bengal Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya has decided to refuse the Padma Bhushan conferred upon him by the central government.
Bhattacharya was announced as one of the recipients of the Padma Bhushan honour on Tuesday, the eve of Republic Day. The award to the “veteran political leader and former Chief Minister of West Bengal” was given to him for his contribution to “public affairs”.
However, after the announcement, Bhattacharya released a statement where he said, “I don’t know anything about Padman Bhusan award. No one has said anything about it. If I have been given Padma Bhushan, I refuse to accept it.”
Former Party PB member & WB CM Buddhadeb Bhattacharya had this to say on the Padma Bhushan award announcement.
“I don’t know anything about Padman Bhusan award,none has said anything about it. If I have been given Padma Bhushan I refuse to accept it.”— Sitaram Yechury (@SitaramYechury) January 25, 2022
According to sources in the CPIM, the party “does not believe in such awards” and hence the party as well as Bhattacharya decided to refuse it. A senior leader of CPIM said, “Earlier, another former Chief Minister of West Bengal and stalwart leader of CPIM, Jyoti Basu, was proposed the Bharat Ratna by the then UPA government. But, Jyoti babu also refused the award as communists do not believe in these type of awards. Buddhadeb Bhattacharya also did so. It was expected from him.”
- The Indian Express website has been rated GREEN for its credibility and trustworthiness by Newsguard, a global service that rates news sources for their journalistic standards.
