Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], Mar. 31 (NT): Veteran Bollywood Diva Sridevi was accorded full state honour under the instructions of Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an RTI query has exposed.

An RTI activist, Anil Galgali, had lodged an RTI seeking details of full state honours granted for the creation of the Bollywood ‘Chandani ‘ and also who has the powers of granting. The RTI was filed under the RTI Act 2005 from the Protocol Department of the Maharashtra Government as ANI reported.

In a respond, the Protocol department informed that the approval of the full state honours for cremation is under the powers of the State Chief Minister, who also heads the General Administration Department, under which the Protocol department come.

It was also elucidated that the power to grant full state honours for cremation of any person is under the unrestricted powers of the Chief Minister and is not dependent on being a Padma Shri awardee.

"A verbal order in regards to the state honours provided to noted actress late Amma Yangar Ayyappan alias Sridevi was received from the Chief Minister's Office on February, 25, and the same was conveyed to the Mumbai Suburban Collector and the Mumbai Police Commissioner by a Government order, dated February 26, 2018, to do the needful, “as the RTI reply read.

Sridevi's funeral with state honours has raised several brows.

A few days back, even Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray, condemned the Maharashtra government for according state funeral to the late actress.

Sridevi passed away on late night on February 24 in Dubai due to accidental drowning, where she went to attend a family wedding.

The cremation ceremony of Sridevi held at Vile Parle's Seva Samaj Crematorium and Hindu Cemetery on February 28, in Mumbai with full state honours.