"It must be stopped. This (Padma awards) is only for a fistful of people who live close to the system (government)," he told reporters, noting that previous 'Janata Parivar' regimes had not given away the awards to anybody.
He said then President APJ Abdul Kalam had sent a note to then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee about "irregularities" in the awards and added that nobody from SCs, STs, minority and farmer communities was given these honours in 2015.
When it was noted that legendary actor Dilip Kumar, a Muslim, was given Padma Vibhushan, Yadav said people like him or Amitabh Bachchan were beyond such identities.
The socialist leader had sparked a row at an event in Mumbai last week where he alleged that Padma awards were given only to the "dishonest" and those from the upper echelons of society.
He said discrimination against the social and economically backward people had existed for long but it had crossed all limits this year, the first year of Narendra Modi-led BJP government.
Yadav, however, refused to single out names and even added that some of them may have deserved the awards but added that majority of people had been ignored.
"I, nevertheless, welcome this debate. No country practices so much discrimination as we do. What I have said is not new and have long been our stand," he said.
Yadav also hit out at the RSS for its charge that 'Janata Parivar' was promoting untouchability against the Modi government and did not treat people from SCs with dignity, alleging that discrimination against Muslims and Christians had increased since BJP came to power.
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