Padma awardees torchbearers of social change: Amit Shah
New Delhi (PTI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday said the Padma awardees are torchbearers of social change who, with their exceptional accomplishments, game-changing innovations, and tireless commitment, have driven national progress in different fields.
In a message on X, Shah congratulated the recipients of the Padma Awards, noting that the awards bear the signature of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to turn "People's Padma" into a medium to strengthen the nation's spirit.
"They are the torchbearers of social change who, with their exceptional accomplishments, game-changing innovations, and tireless commitment, have driven national progress in different fields," he said in a post on X.
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The government has announced 131 Padma awards for the year 2026, including five Padma Vibhushan, 13 Padma Bhushan and 113 Padma Shri, which includes two duo cases in which the award for two individuals is counted as one.
Ninety awardees are women, and the list also includes six individuals from the category of foreigners, NRI, PIO, OCI, and 16 posthumous awardees, besides 45 unsung heroes.
"These awards bear the signature of PM Shri @narendramodi Ji's vision to turn People's Padma into a medium to strengthen the spirit of nation building by inspiring millions to follow the path of making social change for the better," the home minister said.
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We will move court again to resist voter deletions: Mamata
Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday hit out at the BJP and the Election Commission over voter deletions during the SIR exercise and said her party will move a court again to resist the removal of electors from the rolls.
Her comments came after nearly 91 lakh voters' names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the completion of the Special Intensive Revision in the state.
“You will not be able to defeat the TMC by deleting names. We will move a court again to resist the exclusion of names," Banerjee said while attacking her principal challenger BJP over the roll revision exercise.
Banerjee had in February argued in the Supreme Court as she sought an intervention in the SIR process.
The EC figures, which pushed the total deletion to over 90.83 lakh names from the original voter base of 7.66 crore in October 2025, showed that the proportion of removal of electors now remains at over 11.85 per cent.
Criticising the poll panel over the SIR process, she also said, "We will fight legally to get the names included on the list as per the Constitution. If people cannot cast their votes, what is the need to frame the tribunal? And then you are saying that the list has been frozen. What is this? We will challenge it and try to understand it."
Addressing a poll rally at Arambagh in Hooghly district, the TMC supremo accused the saffron party of trying to manipulate the electoral rolls and offering money to woo voters.
Banerjee also charged the Election Commission with intimidating people over the phone.
“It (EC) is working at the behest of the BJP. It is calling people over the telephone to threaten and intimidate them,” she claimed.
Later, while speaking at a rally in Balagarh in the same district, Banerjee warned that voting for the BJP would effectively mean "giving up fish, meat, and speaking in Bengali".
“People are not allowed to eat eggs, fish, or meat in the BJP-ruled states like Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Maharashtra. The same will happen here if the BJP comes to power," Banerjee claimed.
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