On the lines of best parliamentarian award being given in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha annually, Karnataka will have the best legislator award for members of the Legislative Assembly from this year.
Annually, one legislator will be selected for the award. The legislator will receive a certificate and a silver medal carrying the insignia of Vidhana Soudha. The best legislator will be selected by a six-member committee headed by the Speaker, and having Deputy Speaker, Chief Minister, Leader of the Opposition, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister, and one member nominated by the Speaker as members. This year, senior member and Congress MLA R.V. Deshpande has been nominated by Speaker Vishweshwar Hegde Kageri.
The guidelines issued by the Legislative Assembly Secretariat on Monday said that the Indian Parliament has introduced the best parliamentarian award since 1995 and similarly the States of Assam, Rajasthan, Jharkand, Uttarakhand and Gujarat among others have awards. The 79th conference of All India Presiding Officers held at Uttarakhand had also unanimously passed resolution for introduction of the award to increase the quality of debates in the House and understanding of rules and procedures among the members. It also pointed out that in the past, there have been instances in Karnataka where during the term of some legislative assembly where such an award has been bestowed upon the members.
Criteria
A Member of the Legislative Assembly will be considered for the best legislator award based on his/her contribution to the constituency, experience in working as a legislator, skills shown during the debates in the House, interest shown on issues of public interest, issues raised in the House, knowledge of Kannada, confirming to the rules both inside and outside the House, behaviour with fellow legislators, among other criteria.
