Bollywood
diva
Sridevi
was
accorded
a
state
funeral
on
the
directions
from
Maharashtra
Chief
Minister
Devendra
Fadnavis's
office,
as
per
the
reply
to
a
query
under
the
Right
to
Information
Act.
Anil
Galgali,
a
city-based
RTI
activist,
had
sought
to
know
from
the
state's
General
Administration
Department
(GAD)
the
details
of
the
state
funeral
accorded
to
Sridevi,
and
who
is
authorised
to
permit
this
honour.
The
GAD
said
the
power
to
grant
state
funeral
for
a
person
lies
with
the
chief
minister.
Regarding
Sridevi's
funeral,
a
verbal
order
was
received
from
the
chief
minister's
office
on
February
25,
and
it
was
conveyed
to
the
Mumbai
suburban
collector
and
Mumbai
police
commissioner
by
a
government
order
on
February
26,
said
the
GAD's
reply.
In
the
last
six
years,
41
persons
were
granted
state
funeral
in
the
state,
it
said.
They
included
former
chief
ministers
Vilasrao
Deshmukh
and
A
R
Antulay,
Shiv
Sena
founder
Bal
Thackeray,
Vipassana
Guru
Satyanarayan
Goenka
and
Dawoodi
Bohra
community'sspiritual
head
Syedna
Mohammed
Burhanuddin.
Brijesh
Singh,
Director
General
of
DGIPR,
the
state
government's
publicity
wing,
said
there
are
rules
as
to
who
should
get
a
state
funeral,
and
the
chief
minister
can
use
his
discretion
in
the
matter.
Some
persons
get
state
funeral
upon
death
by
virtue
of
the
post
or
the
political/administrative
office
they
have
held.
"The
rules
also
give
a
discretion
to
the
CM
regarding
granting
the
honour
of
state
funerals
to
certain
dignitaries
not
in
this
list.
Padma
awardees
are
concerned
to
be
dignitaries
who
may
be
accorded
state
funeral
at
the
discretion
of
the
CM," Singh
told
PTI.
Sridevi
was
a
Padma
Shri
recipient.
The
actor
died
in
her
room
at
a
Dubai
hotel
due
to
accidental
drowning
on
February
24,
and
was
given
a
state
funeral
in
suburban
Vile
Parle
here
on
February
28.
Maharashtra
Navnirman
Sena
leader
Raj
Thackeray,
at
a
rally
earlier
this
month,
had
questioned
the
decision
to
give
Sridevi
a
state
funeral.
She
was
a
great
actor,
but
what
she
had
done
for
the
country
so
that
her
body
was
wrapped
in
the
tri-colour,
Thackeray
asked,
while
criticising
the
BJP-led
governments
in
the
state
and
the
Centre
on
many
issues.