Padma should not be given to 'tainted': Congress

Against the backdrop of US-based hotelier Sant Singh Chatwal getting a Padma Bhushan, the Congress today said these awards should be given to people who enhance its prestige and not to those with a ‘taint’.

“We are not talking of any specific case. But, these awards should be given to people who enhance its prestige and not to those who have a taint,” party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said when asked about the row over the selection of Chatwal, who was earlier chargesheeted by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in a fraud case.

“The award should be given to people whose integrity is not doubtful,” Ahmed said. BJP Deputy Leader of the Opposition Gopinath Munde has written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh demanding that the award to Chatwal be taken back. He argued that due to Chatwal’s alleged controversial financial dealings, he did not deserve the honour.