Hours after the list for Padma awardees was announced by the government, the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Saturday opposed conferring the Padma Shri on singer Adnan Sami.
Taking to Twitter, MNS leader Ameya Khopkar said that Pakistan-born Sami was given Indian citizenship in the first term of Prime Minister Narendra Modi led government. Further, he went on to question him being given the Padma Shri award, in PM Modi's second term.
"It was under the Modi government in 2015 that Adnan Sami was given Indian citizenship and after four years he has been conferred the Padma Shri award, what is the reason for lifting him," Khopkar's tweet, roughly translated in English from Marathi, read.
Through another tweet, the President of MNS Cinema wing added that MNS demands the government to take back the award and the party will keep on opposing till its demands are met.
Apart from Sami, actress Kangana Ranaut, director-producers Ekta Kapoor and Karan Johar have been conferred with the Padma Shri award by the government from the entertainment industry, among 118 others.
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.
This year the government has decided to confer seven Padma Vibhushan, 16 Padma Bhushan and 118 Padma Shri. Among the awardees, 34 are women and the list also includes 18 persons in the category of foreigners/NRI/PIO/OCI.
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