Veteran BJP leader and former chief minister S.M. Krishna (90), who was conferred with Padma Vibhushan - the second-highest civilian award of the country, in the public affairs category, said it was "totally unexpected" and "humbling".
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai, along with his cabinet colleagues Dr Ashwathnarayan, R. Ashok, Dr K. Sudhakar and S. Gopalaiah, felicitated the former Congres leader and Union minister of external affairs (in the Manmohan Singh government), at his Bengaluru residence. The veteran politician had quit the Congress party to join the BJP in 2017.
Bommai lauded Krishna saying he was known for good governance and had launched several popular welfare schemes as the chief minister.
"The public life of S.M.Krishna is a model for every one of us. He is a very creative and simple person and is known by his good governance. It is a matter of pride that the award will be presented by the president," said Bommai.
Further, elaborating on the welfare schemes launched by Krishna, Bommai said, "Mr Krishna had given a number of welfare programmes for all the communities. The Yashasvini scheme was launched by him. Till then, there was no such health insurance scheme. He had formulated the policy following wide consultation with doctors and farmers. The scheme had been discontinued for some time but was revived during the last budget with some improvements and we have set aside Rs 300 crore for the scheme."
While Krishna introduced the mid-day meal scheme in schools realising that it was difficult for a child to learn on an empty stomach, he also took a bold stand in the Cauvery and Krishna water disputes issue. However, his biggest contribution was the push given to knowledge-based development, recalled the chief minister.
"During his tenure as the CM, the IT/BT companies came to Bengaluru in large numbers. The PM has recognised Mr Krishna, the veteran politician and his significant contribution by bestowing Padma Vibhushan award. In fact, all the awardees have worked selflessly. The President and the Prime Minister deserve appreciation for evolving a system to select the most deserving for the Padma awards," said Bommai.
Krishna stated that he had never imagined he would get the Padma award.
"It is a very big honour that is totally unexpected and something that I had not even dreamed about. However, I thank Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah as I believe the Centre has certain criteria to choose the Padma awardees. As Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai mentioned earlier about the reforms I had brought in during my tenure as the CM, two schemes -Yashaswini (healthcare) and mid-day meals, are very close to my heart. The current chief minister has brought in many more reforms to make Yashaswini effective," said Krishna, who also recalled that the state government had honoured him with the Kempegowda award.
"The state government has always treated me well and has honoured me with the Kempegowda Award and I consider these awards as a big recognition to my small contribution," added Krishna.
