Baba Ramdev, Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Say No To Padma Award
Darpan News Desk IANS, 24 Jan, 2015 03:08 PM
Yoga guru Ramdev and spiritual leader Sri Sri Ravi Shankar Saturday declined to accept Padma awards, saying the honour could be given to someone else.
Ramdev declined the Padma Vibhushan - India's second highest civilian award - saying that while he was grateful for being chosen for the honour it should be given to someone else and not a "sanyasi".
In a letter to union Home Minister Rajnath Singh, he said he was grateful that the central government thought of his name, which he got to know from media reports, but the honour could be given to some other great person.
"I am a 'sanyasi' and want to serve the country without expecting anything," he said, adding that a recluse must remain the same while he is honoured or disrespected.
"I urge you to give this honour to somebody doing something great. I would be grateful to you," he said.
Art of Living founder Sri Sri Ravi Shankar also declined to accept the Padma award, saying it could be given to someone else.
The world renowned spiritual guru posted on Twitter that Rajnath Singh called him to inform about it but he declined to accept the award.
According to a statement issued by Art of Living in Bengaluru late Saturday, Ravi Shankar told Rajnath Singh over phone: "I thank the government for considering me for the Padma award. There are many other deserving people. Instead of me, I would like them to honour someone else."
The 59-year-old spiritual guru founded Art of Living in 1981 as an NGO for educational and humanitarian projects with a special focus on stress management.
The organisation operates in 152 countries the world over, benefitting about 370 million people worldwide.
Actress Kirron Kher, who is the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat, Tuesday joined microblogging site Twitter to build a "direct connection" with the public.
The central government Tuesday informed the Delhi High Court that it has sought detailed information from the AAP over allegations of receiving foreign funds, saying this was in violation of the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA).
Is there a wave for the BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi? Certainly yes, if you watch television channels that day-after-day and night-after-night showcase a man who has been projected as decisive and charismatic, with plans to rid the country of corruption and has already drawn a roadmap to take India to higher economic growth.
In no general election in my over three decades in journalism have I seen such brazen targeting of one politician and one political outfit as I see now in the case of Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
Actress Kirron Kher, 58, has been fielded by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has added glamour quotient to the Chandigarh contest by fielding actress Gul Panag, 35.
