Bucking norm, culture minister kept out of panel to pick Padma award nominees

Mumbai: In a move that has surprised many in political circles, culture minister Ashish Shelar has been kept out of the committee formed to recommend the names of distinguished individuals who have excelled in various fields for the 2027 Padma awards. In recent years, the culture minister has either headed the panel or has been a member.The state govt set up the committee last week under the chairmanship of protocol minister Jaykumar Rawal. During the previous Mahayuti govt's term, the panel was helmed by then culture minister Sudhir Mungantiwar. Under the chairmanship of former protocol ministers Aaditya Thackeray and Ram Shinde, then culture ministers Vinod Tawde and Amit Deshmukh were part of it. "Shelar is a senior and prominent minister. There is no one from Mumbai in the current panel. The culture minister has always been part of the committee since the minister deals with all kinds of artists, theatre personalities, filmmakers, poets and literature experts through the culture department. It's a surprise that Shelar is not part of such an important committee given his network in Hindi and Marathi film industries. He's also the guardian minister of Mumbai suburban district," said a political observer. Shelar was not available for comment. The panel has ministers Hasan Mushrif (medical education), Dadaji Bhuse (school education), Uday Samant (industries and Marathi language), Pankaja Munde (environment and climate change), Aditi Tatkare (women and child development) and Shivendrasinh Bhosale (public works) as members.