Kerala Governor Justice (retd) P. Sathasivam on Saturday gave away "Sansad Ratna" awards to nine best performing parliamentarians at a glittering function here.
The awards, instituted by a city-based non-governmental organisation (NGO) Prime Point Foundation, were presented to Members of Parliament from both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.
Speaking on the occasion, Sathasivam stressed that democracy allows space for dissent and urged the parliamentarians to foster more constructive debates in society to correct the pessimistic trends.
He said: "Although democracy allows a space for dissent, we have reached a stage where dissent is viewed as unpardonable and is even used against people."
Sathasivam also recalled the recent remarks made by President Pranab Mukherjee about the need to recognise the "argumentative Indian" instead of the "intolerant Indian".
He said "The people, who are not aware of the significance of parliamentary procedure, tend to criticise the long discussions without realising that the nation derives its policies through these deliberations."
Referring to the Member of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS), Sathasivam urged the parliamentarians that their developmental initiatives should give impetus to projects that promote renewable energy in society
"It would also be good if the active attention of MPs turned to projects that would benefit groups like transgenders, scheduled castes and scheduled tribes," Sathasivam added.
The awardees are Shrirang Appa Barne (Shiv Sena, Mavel, Maharashtra), Rajeev Shankarrao Satav (Indian National Congress, Hingoli, Maharashtra) and Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik (Nationalist Congress Party, Kolhapur, Maharashtra).
Bhartruhari Mahtab (Biju Janata Dal, Cuttack, Odisha) and N.K. Premachandran (Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kollam, Kerala) were given Special Awards for their excellence in quality of debates and other parliamentary proceedings.
Heena Vijayakumar Gavit (Bharatiya Janata Party, Nandurbar, Maharaashtra) was awarded under the Women MP category.
Sanjay Raut (Shiv Sena, Maharashtra), K.N. Balagopal (CPI-M, Kerala) and Dr. T.N. Seema (CPI-M, Kerala) were the award-recipient Rajya Sabha MPs, who retired in 2016 on completion of their six-year term.
This was the eighth edition of the Sansad Ratna awards.
--IANS
vj/nir/bg
(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)