Mukherjee, Tendulkar, Bhosle awarded Padma Vibhushan

External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, cricket star Sachin Tendulkar and melody queen Asha Bhosle were among the celebrity recipients of the Padma Vibhushan

New Delhi:External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee, cricket star Sachin Tendulkar and melody queen Asha Bhosle were among the celebrity recipients of the Padma Vibhushan from President Pratibha Patil on Monday for their outstanding contribution in their respective fields. Infosys chief mentor N R Narayan Murthy and renowned hotelier P R S Oberoi were also conferred with the award. The first man to step on the world's highest peak, Mount Everest, Sir Edmund Hillary was conferred the Padma Vibhushan posthumously.

Noted author Dominique Lapierre, teacher Shyama Chona and classical musician Ustad Rahim Fahimuddin Khan Dagar received the Padma Vibhushan while FICCI Secretary General Amit Mitra, sports person Bula Chowdhury and journalists Vinod Dua and Rajdeep Sardesai were presented with the Padma Shri.

Ignoring the clamour for Bharat Ratna triggered by BJP leader L K Advani's letter to the Prime Minister proposing Atal Bihari Vajpayee's name, Government decided against naming anyone for the award for the seventh consecutive year this time. Bharat Ratna was last given in 2001 to Lata Mangeshkar and Ustad Bismillah Khan.

Pranab Mukherjee is the first ever serving Cabinet minister to get a Padma award. Vice President Hamid Ansari, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi and other cabinet ministers were present on the occasion. (PTI)

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