Padma Bhushan awards: Mufti Mohammed Sayeed's name 'dropped' after family shows lack of interest

Like often it’s seen the 2017 edition of Padma Bhushan awards weren’t entirely out of controversy. Of the many names considered for the award, the name of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister and leader of the People’s Democratic Party, Mufti Mohammed Sayeed was dropped at the last minute. [caption id=“attachment_3221614” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] A file image of Mufti Mohammed Sayeed. AFP[/caption] The family of the late chief minister of J&K didn’t weren’t too keen on the award, The Indian Express said on Thursday, citing a government official and a family member of the ruling PDP in Jammu and Kashmir. Sayeed became the chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir for the second time after forming an alliance with the Bharatiya Janata Party (the ruling party at the Centre) in 2015. He passed away at the AIIMS in New Delhi on January 7, 2016. “His name was being considered along with names of Sundar Lal Patwa, former Chief Minister of undivided Madhya Pradesh who passed away in December 2016, and PA Sangma, former Lok Sabha Speaker,” the report said quoting a government official. But Sayeed’s family is not the only to refuse the Padma Bhushan award. Several artistes, authors and personalities have refused the Padma Bhushan as a sign of protest. The list includes historian Romila Thapar, sitar maestro Ustad Vilayat Khan and Kathak dancer Sitara Devi, among others. Mufti Mohammaed Sayeed’s daughter Mehbooba Mufti is the current chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir and is part of the alliance that includes both PDP and BJP.