Best Parliamentarian award given to Murli Manohar Joshi, Mohan Singh and PRD Munshi
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, August 18, 2010
Murli Manohar Joshi receiving the award
The President Pratibha Devisingh Patil conferred the prestigious Best Parliamentarian Awards to Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi, Mohan Singh and Dr. Murali Manohar Joshi on Wednesday evening at a grand function in the Central Hall of Parliament.
The Awards were given for the year 2007, 2008 and 2009 for their outstanding contributions to parliamentary debates. While Mohan Singh and Dr. Joshi received the Awards themselves, Mrs. Deepa Das Munshi received the Award on behalf of her husband Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi , who is ailing.
Addressing the function, the President, the Vice President, Prime Minister and the Lok Sabha Speaker hailed the contributions of these parliamentarians in making the debates rich in content.
Mrs. Pratibha Devi Singh Patil asserted it is the joint responsibility of the opposition and treasury benches to take the nation forward. This, she said can be achieved through discussion and consultation process. She added that the faith of people in the democracy has increased and it is reflected in the participation of the people in the electoral process.
Mrs. Patil reminded the members of parliament that it is important that the image of the temple of democracy in the public mind is the one where debates and discussions take place with a view to find an out come through constructive and cooperative approach.
Mrs. Patil said parliament must evolve and reform to meet emerging challenges that often require fresh thinking and innovative ideas.
Speaking on the occasion, the Vice President Mohammad Hamid Ansari said that the award will induce other parliamentarians to strive to improve the discourse and this will lend weight and substance to the edifice of democracy.
The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh in his brief remarks said that parliament reflects vibrant democratic polity of the country and called for enhancing its image to strengthen the democratic values. He said walk outs and disruptions may make head lines in the press.
But it is high time to raise the standard of debate and discussions. For this prime minister said that only those parliamentarians will be able to contribute who do their homework.
The Lok Sabha Speaker Mrs. Meira Kumar also addressed the function which was attended by several members of Union Cabinet and members of parliament.
