Akhilesh Yadav, the president of Samajwadi Party, received the Padma Vibhushan posthumously on behalf of his father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, who was awarded the honor by the Indian government. Mulayam Singh Yadav, Zakir Hussain, KM Birla, and Sudha Murty are among the 106 Padma Award recipients this year. The Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian honor in India, given for exceptional and distinguished service in the field of public affairs. Several leaders of the Samajwadi Party expressed their view that Mulayam Singh Yadav “deserved Bharat Ratna,” a higher award than the Padma Vibhushan. Mulayam Singh Yadav, a long-time Parliamentarian, passed away on October 10, 2022. Several leaders of the Samajwadi Party believe that the Padma Vibhushan award conferred upon Mulayam Singh Yadav posthumously “doesn’t do justice” to his standing and that he “deserved Bharat Ratna”, the highest civilian award in India. Swami Prasad Maurya, a leader of the Samajwadi Party who was earlier associated with the BJP, has also expressed the view that Yadav should receive the Bharat Ratna instead of the Padma Vibhushan.
The Padma Awards are a series of civilian awards in India, given to individuals from various fields in recognition of their distinguished contributions in their respective fields. The awards are conferred by the President of India at a ceremony held at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi every year. The Padma Vibhushan is the second-highest civilian award in India, followed by the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Shri. The Padma Vibhushan is given for exceptional and distinguished service, the Padma Bhushan is given for distinguished service of high order, and the Padma Shri is given for distinguished service in any field.
