The government denied proposals to bestow Padma awards to a number of prominent personalities, including cricketer MS Dhoni, spiritual leader Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, and tabla maestro Zakir Hussain, as per a report in the Indian Express on Monday.
Other noted personalities whose names were declined include Biju Janata Dal MP Baijayant Panda, music composer Anu Malik and journalist Arnab Goswami. There were no reasons cited by the home ministry for rejecting these names.
The Padma awards are likely to be conferred by the President at functions held at Rashtrapati Bhavan later this year.
President Pranab Mukherjee approved Padma awards for 89 recipients this year. This list also includes seven Padma Vibhushan, seven Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri awards.
The maximum nominations were received for Singh, the controversial chief of the influential Dera Sacha Sauda. He was also featured in three films. Besides, air hostess Neerja Bhanot, who was killed during a hijack in 1986, was nominated by BJP MP Kirron Kher.
