Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, said conferring the top civilian honour on the late Kurien would also be a recognition to millions of dairy farmers in the country.
Kurien, who brought India to the forefront of the world in terms of milk production and helped millions of dairy farmers to find a decent living, really deserves the country's top honour, the chief minister said in the letter.
It was through the visionary initiatives of Kurien that the country had attained self-sufficiency in milk production and even excelled the United States' achievements in the sector, he said.