New Delhi: Former Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday dedicated his Padma Vibhushan award to the farmers of the country and thanked them for making India self reliant.

"Thank you very much for conferring me with the 'Padma Vibhushan' award," Pawar wrote in a series of tweets after his name was announced for the Padma Vibhushan award, India's second-highest civilian honour.


President Pranab Mukherjee named 89 people for the country's top civilian awards, including seven Padma Bhushan and 75 Padma Shri awards, on the occasion of country's 68th Republic Day.

"I dedicate this award to farmers whose relentless toil made this nation self reliant in food production," said Pawar, also the Nationalist Congress Party President and a former Maharashtra Chief Minister

He also thanked the people of the state's Latur, Osmanabad and Mumbai who showed indomitable spirit during distress.

"And also to the administrative machinery for their untiring efforts in bringing normalcy at all the locations," Pawar said.

"I salute my voters who consistently and continuously showed faith in me for 50 years," he said.-Agency