Ghulam Nabi Azad, the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and a veteran Congress leader, was named to the list of Padma Bhushan honorees issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on January 25.
President Ram Nath Kovind will bestow the Padma Bhushan on Azad, 72, for his contributions to “public affairs.”
The President approved a total of 17 names for the Padma Bhushan award, which is given for “distinguished service of high order.”
Apart from Azad, the list also includes Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, the former West Bengal chief minister and senior CPI(M) leader.
Azad, who was the Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha from June 2014 to February 2021, was praised by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the end of his term in the Upper House.
“Azad has distinguished himself in Parliament. He not only worries about his Party but also had a similar passion towards the smooth running of the House and towards India’s development,” he had said.
Azad, a member of the Congress’ G-23 – an informal reference to 23 Congress veterans who had marked dissent against the party’s style of functioning, had apparently reciprocated the gesture last year by praising Modi for “not hiding his true self”.
Notably, Azad, before serving as the Leader of Opposition in Rajya Sabha for close to seven years, was the Union Minister for Health and Family Welfare in the second UPA government between 2009 and 2014.
He had served as the seventh chief minister of Jammu & Kashmir between November 2005 and July 2008.
The Padma awards, whose recipients are announced on the eve of Republic Day, are conferred by the President of India at ceremonial functions which are held at Rashtrapati Bhawan usually around March-April every year.
This year, the President has approved the conferment of 128 Padma awards. The list comprises 4 Padma Vibhushan, 17 Padma Bhushan and 107 Padma Shri awards.
The Chenab Times News Desk