The BJP, however, denied the former three-time state chief minister's assertion on Ranjan Gogoi who was nominated as a Rajya Sabha member by the government in March.
Most chief ministers chose to miss a high-level conference, convened to thrash out challenging issues on public order and policing, with only seven state leaders attending it.
"We did not talk about the money being paid by Tarun Gogoi to ULFA in our stories. This was mentioned in some of the local papers."
Veteran doctor and educationist from Karnataka Belle Monappa Hegde and archaeology legend B B Lal were also given the Padma Vibhushan awards.
As counting is on in the five states - Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Assam and West Bengal -- here's a look at where the heavyweights stand.
As the news of former Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi's demise broke, leaders across the political spectrum paid tribute to the Assam leader.
Even as his 79-year-old father is counting his days in active politics after a very long innings, Gaurav Gogoi, son of Assam Chief Minister Tarun Gogoi is now all set to take a plunge in electoral politics. Gaurav has been nominated by the Congress party to contest Lok Sabha election from Kaliabor constituency in Assam.
Celebrations erupted across Assam with opponents of the bill bursting crackers, distributing sweets and breaking into frenzied dancing on the streets.
A total of 3,30,27,661 people had applied to be included in the NRC. Of them, 3,11,21,004 have been included in the document and 19,06,657 excluded.
Even if they score administratively, state governments ruled by the party suffer from an inability to communicate positively, say observers.
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