Veteran actress Sridevi received state honours after her sudden death in Dubai, a month ago. It was speculated that the actress received state honours because she was a Padma Shri but in reality, it was Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis who used his discretionary powers for the same, revealed Right To Information (RTI) activist Anil Galgali.
As per the RTI, on February 25, 2018, the CM’s office gave a verbal order regarding the state funeral which was then conveyed to the Mumbai Suburban Collector and the Mumbai Police Commissioner by a government order dated February 26, 2018.
It was being said that Sridevi was given state honours after her death because she was a Padma Shri recepient but when I sought the information through an RTI, I came to know that not all Padma Shri recipients get state honour and it is the CM who decided who the state honour must be conferred upon,” Anil Galgali, RTI Activist.
From June 22, 2012, to March 26, 2018, 40 people in Maharashtra received state honours during funeral rites, said RTI activist Galgali.
The deadbody of an eminent personality is draped in the tricolour, which is then carried in a gun-carriage with the army and police security in a procession. The funeral ceremony also includes a 21-gun salute.
It is usually reserved only for current or former presidents, prime ministers, union ministers, and state chief ministers. However, there have been instances when the CM used his discretionary powers to confer state funerals for eminent personalities such as noted poet Mangesh Padgaonkar, Shiv Sena founder Balasaheb Thackeray, Dawoodi Bohra community religious leader Syedna Mohammad Burhanuddin, Vipassana Guru Satyanarayan Goenka, Padamvibhushan Dr. BK Goyal, senior journalist Muzzaffar Hussain and others.
The first person who received a state funeral in independent India was Mahatma Gandhi.
On February 24, 2018, Sridevi died of drowning after falling unconscious at a Dubai hotel and was laid to rest with full state honours on February 28.
Also Read: Last Pictures Of Sridevi From The Wedding In Dubai
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