S M Krishna says he is 'too humbled', dedicates Padma Vibhushan to people of Karnataka

Krishna, who was with the BJP until recently, had earlier this month said that he was retiring from active politics

Veteran BJP leader and former chief minister S M Krishna, who has been conferred with the second-highest civilian award of the country the Padma Vibhushan, on Thursday, said that he would dedicate the award to the people of the state who have nurtured him for six decades.

Thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the 90-year old leader who has been given the award in the ‘public affairs’ category said he was “ too humbled” to accept the award.

“My parents will be pleased and happy, for the prime minister and home minister have thought it fit to confer this prestigious distinction on me. I’m grateful to the government of India and I’m also grateful to the people of Karnataka,” he said.

Krishna, who was with the BJP till recently, had earlier this month said that he was retiring from active politics, citing his age as the reason.

Also Read | Padma awards for 8 Kannadigas show Karnataka has abundant talent, says Bommai

He was the 16th chief minister of Karnataka, from October 11, 1999 to May 28, 2004 (from the Congress).

He had served as Governor of Maharashtra and was the External Affairs Minister during the Manmohan Singh-led United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government from 2009 to 2012.

Krishna is credited by many for putting Bengaluru on the global map, as the fillip given to the IT sector during his tenure resulted in the city becoming ‘India’s Silicon Valley’.

He had joined the BJP in March 2017, ending his nearly 50-year association with the Congress.

Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said that the union government conferring as many as eight Padma awards to distinguished people in the state showed that it had bountiful talent.

Profusely thanking Modi, in a series of tweets, Bommai said, “Eight persons from Karnataka, including former CM S M Krishna, social worker Sudha Murty and Kannada litterateur Prof S L Bhyrappa have been selected for the Padma awards. The selection of eight persons from Karnataka shows the bountiful talent that Karnataka has. The state government congratulates everyone.”

He said that the Modi government had picked people who had made rich contributions to the country without any expectations and never sought publicity.

Bhyrappa and Sudha Murty have been conferred with Padma Bhushan in literature & education, social work, respectively.

Khadar Valli Dudekula (science and engineering), Rani Machaiah (art), N P Munivenkatappa (art), Rasheed Ahmed Quadri (art) and S Subbaraman (archaeology) have been chosen for the Padma Shri awards.