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Cong’s Tharoor, BJD’s Patra selected ‘Best MPs’ at Lokmat Parliamentary awards
Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) lawmaker from Rajya Sabha, Sasmit Patra, were picked as best parliamentarians for the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards 2023 on Tuesday
New Delhi: Congress Lok Sabha MP Shashi Tharoor and Biju Janata Dal (BJD) lawmaker from Rajya Sabha, Sasmit Patra, were picked as best parliamentarians for the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards 2023 on Tuesday.
Besides Tharoor and Patra, six other lawmakers from the two Houses also received the awards in various categories for their contributions in Parliament.
While Lok Sabha MP and Bahujan Samaj Party leader Danish Ali and CPI(M) MP from Rajya Sabha, John Brittas, were picked as the best debutant parliamentarians of the year. Samajwadi Party MP from Rajya Sabha, Ram Gopal Yadav, and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s Lok Sabha MP Maneka Sanjay Gandhi were conferred the lifetime achievement award.
Shiromani Akali Dal lawmaker from Lok Sabha, Harsimrat Kaur Badal, and BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Saroj Pandey were awarded the best woman parliamentarian in the respective Houses.
The Lokmat Parliamentary Awards are given to outstanding parliamentarians – four from Lok Sabha and four from Rajya Sabha – every year. This is the fifth edition of the awards, the recipients of which were selected by a jury headed by Lokmat Parliamentary Awards committee chairman and former secretary general of Lok Sabha, Subhas Kashyap.
Union minister for road transport and highways Nitin Gadkari was the chief guest at the award ceremony that was also attended by Union minister of state for social justice and empowerment Ramdas Athawale.
In his address, Gadkari said: “Qualitative discussions from our parliamentarians will uplift the pride of Parliament. Today, the problem is not difference of opinion but emptiness of thoughts. People who stand by their ideologies are gradually decreasing and this is not good for democracy. Some people have that approach of neither being a leftist or a rightist but only an opportunist and this is not right.
He also stressed on how parliamentarians should raise issues both inside the House and in their respective constituencies.
In a post on X, Tharoor said: “It’s an honour to be recognised by one’s peers in the company of other stalwart parliamentarians who were awarded in other categories… Delighted my mother and sisters were able to attend this special occasion!”
Ali also said he was grateful for the award. “I am deeply grateful for receiving the award... I extend my thanks to the voters of my Lok Sabha constituency, Amroha, for giving me the opportunity to raise the voice of Dalits, Backwards, and marginalized sections in the Parliament,” he wrote on the micro-blogging site.
