The list of 130 Padma awardees, this year, includes 13 foreigners including NRIs and PIOs, and 17 women from various fields. Six has been given Padma Vibhushan, the second highest honour after the Bharat Ratna for exceptional and distinguished services, 43 selected for Padma Bhushan for distinguished services of high order, and 81 for Padma Shree for distinguished service in any field.

The list of Padma awardees includes a highly controversial person, the US based hotelier and a fund raiser for the former US President Bill Clinton. He is also a Sikh and notorious for his involvement in a loan default of the State Bank of India. . He also faced trial for alleged bank frauds in India. He has been conferred Padma Bhushan. It is learnt authoritatively that his name did not figure in the finalized list forwarded to the Prime Minister. So the intervention at the highest level cannot be ruled out. Meanwhile, the Ministry of Home Affairs, when contacted, did not confirm or deny it.

The latest controversy follows a letter written by the Deputy Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gopinath Munde to the Prime Minister demanding immediate cancellation of Padma Bhushan award to Chhatwal as he is a tainted man.#