Maharashtra Minority Affairs Minister Nawab Malik on Monday slammed the BJP led Central government over Padma Shri being awarded to Singer Adnan Sami and said that it is a damage control exercise of the BJP and an insult to the people of India.
“As the entire country is witnessing protests against CAA, it has shown the government in a bad light on the international level. So, giving an award to Adnan Sami is nothing but a damage control exercise by the BJP,” Malik told ANI.
“It is a clear cut case showing that if anybody from Pakistan chants in favour of PM Modi, he will get citizenship of the country and Padma Shri,” he added.
Malik said giving an award to a ‘Pakistani’ is an insult to the people of India.
“This is clearly an insult to the people of India. Are Indian Muslims not competent enough to get the Padma? Modi government wants to show that they are giving citizenship to Pakistani Muslims and Padma Shree”, he added.
The list of Padma Shri awardees was released on Saturday on the eve of Republic Day.
The Padma awards are conferred in three categories — Padma Vibhushan, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri.
The Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award after Bharat Ratna.