Actor Sridevi was given state honours during her funeral in February on the orders of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, a Right to Information reply showed, PTI reported.
The state’s protocol department, under the General Administration Department, is headed by the chief minister.
The RTI query was filed by a Mumbai activist Anil Galgali. “There were speculations that Sridevi was given state honours after her death because she was a Padma awardee, but that is not the case,” Galgali told the Hindustan Times. “Not all Padma recipients get state honours and it is the chief minister who decides whom the state honour must be conferred upon,” he said.
The reply to the RTI query said the chief minister’s office, on February 25, gave a verbal order about granting state honours to the actor, and this was communicated to the Mumbai suburban collector and Mumbai police commissioner by a government order on February 26.
In the past six years, 41 people – including former chief ministers Vilasrao Deshmukh and AR Antulay, Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray and Dawoodi Bohra community’s spiritual head Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin – were given the state honours, the General Administration Department said in its reply.
“The chief minister has discretionary powers about granting the state honours to dignitaries, Brijesh Singh, the Director General of the state government’s publicity wing told PTI.
Sridevi died in Dubai on February 24, after allegedly losing consciousness and drowning in the bathtub of her hotel room. The actor’s body was flown to Mumbai three days later. She was in Dubai to attend her nephew’s wedding, with husband Boney Kapoor and her younger daughter Khushi.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!