Tamil writer B Jeyamohan, the family of late Shetkari Sanghatana founder Sharad Joshi and journalist Virendra Kapoor reportedly turned down their Padma awards before the final list was announced on Monday, The Indian Express reported.
According to the report, while Jeyamohan said he was proud when he heard about the news from an official in the union culture ministry, he declined the Padma Shri as he did not want to be tagged as a Hindu sympathiser.
A friend of Jeyamohan told IE, "He feels he should maintain his independent status… his stand in the recent past in favour of right wing politics has invited criticism from a large section of his readers."
Speaking about why Sharad Joshi's family refused to accept the award, Anant Deshpande, trustee of Shetkari Sanghatana and an associate of Joshi since 1984, told the newspaper, "Home ministry officials called and spoke to Joshi’s daughter on Sunday regarding a posthumous Padma Shri. She humbly refused to accept the award, saying that his work was much bigger than the award."
Virendra Kapoor told IE, "I have nothing against the government. I have not accepted anything from any government in the last 40 years, and I don’t believe in taking anything from the government."