This year for 2016, all Telugu people might be feeling proud that media baron Ramoji Rao and superstar Rajnikanth were conferred Padma Vibhushan, while Tollywood sensation Rajamouli bagged the Padma Shri award. Who is behind Ramoji’s prestigious Padma Vibhushan award?
[m9ad]
Is there a committee of eminent persons to select people for the nation’s highest awards? Nope. A recent RTI query revealed that there are three ways to select. The first one is the recommendations by various state governments and union territories. The second type is by recommendations by various political parties or influential persons. And the third would leave you in a surprise. It’s by self recommendations for the Padma Awards (in 2016, 720 people nominated themselves). There is no place for the public opinion or an authentic committee to select the awardees.
RTI query revealed that for the year 2016 media baron Ramoji Rao of Eenadu group got the Padma Vibhushan on Arun Jaitley’s recommendation.
