Thiruvananthapuram: Of the 42 names recommended by the state government for Padma awards this time only Phillipose Mar Chrysostom was chosen for the prestigious award. The government had recommended just one name for Padma Vibhushan and that was of writer M.T. Vasudevan Nair in literature category. However, the Centre chose Sangh Parivar ideologue P Parameswaran for Padma Vibhushan who is also the lone recipient of the prestigious award from the state.
Similarly, 35 persons were recommended by state government for Padma Shri. However, the Centre considered just two Malayalees; M R Rajagopal and Lakshmikutty Amma who were not in the list of personalities recommended by the state government for Padma Shri. There are reports that government data indicated that P Parameswaran had nominated himself for the prestigious award. The four persons who recommended him included his name as well. However, Parameswaran or people close to him are yet to react to these allegations. Parameswaran is the senior most RSS pracharak in the state and the main ideologue of Sangh Parivar.
The government recommended six names for Padma Bhushan only Dr Philipose Mar Chrysostom (social work) was chosen. The others on the list were Kalamandalam Gopi Asan - Art (kathakali), Mammootty, Art (cinema), Mohanlal (Art Cinema), Peruvanam Kuttan Marar (Art Chenda) , Sugatha Kumari (Literature and Social work), As many as 35 people were recommended for Padma Shree, according to information obtained through RTI by activist Jomon Puthenpurackal. The list included Soorya Krishnamoorthy (art/ Soorya Festival), Kanayi Kunhiraman (art/ sculptor), Artist Namboothiri (art/painting), Nedumudi Venu (art/ cinema), E.P. Unny (art/ cartoonist ), Dr B Ekbal (education) and I.M. Vijayan (sports). The list containing names of the persons recommended by state government was sent by chief secretary K.M. Abraham to Rajiv Gauba, Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs via letter on September 8, 2017.
