Shri Hansraj G. Ahir, Hon’ble Minister of State for Home,
Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, Hon’ble Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs,
Shri P.P. Chaudhary, Hon’ble Minister of State for Law and Justice,
Shri Anandrao Adsul, Member of Parliament,
Dr. Bhaskar Ramamurthy, Director, IIT Madras,
Dr. M.R. Madhavan, President, PRS Legislative Research,
Shri K. Srinivasan, Chairman, Prime Point Foundation,
Dr. Sudarshan Padmanabhan, Associate Professor,IIT Madras
Dear Award Winners,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
I am very happy to address you after presenting the Sansad Ratna Awards to nine Parliamentarians who have strengthened our democracy through selfless service.
I would like to begin by congratulating all the nine Parliamentarians who have won the award today. Shri Shrirang Appa Barne, Shri Rajeeev Shankarrao Satav, Dr. Heena Gavit, Shri Sanjay Raut and Shri Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik from Maharashtra, Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab from Odisha, Shri N.K. Premachandran, Shri K.N. Balagopal and Smt. T.N. Seema from Kerala deserve our wholehearted appreciation for the honor they have received today.
I also compliment the Prime Point Foundation and its e-Magazine Pre-Sense on the interest it has been showing in recognizing the contributions of Parliamentarians since 2009. I understand that this noble gesture of the Foundation was inspired by the words of our former President, the Late Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam, who had made a tele-address to the first edition of the Award ceremony from Delhi in 2010 and even devoted a chapter for this award in his last book, A Manifesto for Change.
It is also good to know that the selection process for this award was carried out by a Jury comprising three eminent Parliamentarians, namely, Shri Anandrao Adsul, Shri Hansraj G Ahir and Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal. Their choice of the awardees can only be perfect, considering their long experience as outstanding Parliamentarians and as winners of the 'Sansad Maha Ratna' Award for 2015.
Of the nine award winning Parliamentarians, six are from the 16th Lok Sabha and three from Rajya Sabha and they belong to different political parties. I feel that it would be unfair not to mention a word or two about the contribution of each person, since there is something special with each one of them.
For instance, Shri Shrirang Barne's career exemplifies the steady progress of a political figure from the position of a Corporator in a Municipal Corporation to the level of an effective parliamentarian. Shri Rajeev Shankarrao Satav has a Parliament attendance record of 88%, which is higher than the national average and has asked 745 questions, which is the fifth highest. Ms. Heena Gavit, is a Doctor and one of the youngest Members of Parliament, who has grown up seeing political activity since childhood, since her father too was in politics. Shri Dhananjay Bhimrao Mahadik stands out as an active figure who has raised 785 questions in Parliament. Shri Bhartruhari Mahtab, who is the leader of his party in Parliament, has an attendance record of 93%. And, Shri N.K. Premachandran, Parliamentarian from Kerala, is well known as a former Minister who enjoys huge popular support despite belonging to a small party.
Among the members of the Rajya Sabha, we have Shri Sanjay Raut, who has also been serving as the executive editor of his party's newspaper. Shri K.N. Balagopal, who hails from Kerala has been active in politics right from student days, heading student and youth organizations at the national level. And finally, Dr. T.N. Seema, who holds a doctorate in Malayalam Language and Literature, is now heading a mission in Kerala to brighten the prospects of organic farming.
I must also compliment the Delhi based PRS Legislative Researchwhich closely monitored the performance of all the Members of Parliament and released the data of their individual performance for selection, which was based on the participation of debates, raising questions, introduction of Private Members Bills and attendance in the House and Committee Meetings, Usage of the Members of Parliament Local Area Development Scheme etc.
As we all know, the word Parliament originated from the French word, 'parler', which implied the act of speaking. The Parliament is a place to talk about or discuss matters that concern the people and their lives. Quite often, we see Parliamentarians actively advocating or opposing some issues or causes and it is not rare to see the discussions turning loud, noisy and even violent. Every Parliamentarian is driven by the faith that his voice is the voice of the people. As the famous Political theorist and philosopher Edmund Burke observed, “Parliament is not a congress of ambassadors from different and hostile interests; it is a deliberate assembly of one nation with one interest”.
However, society holds different views about politics and parliamentarians. People who are not aware of the significance of parliamentary procedure, tend to criticize the long discussions without realizing that the nation derives its policies through these deliberations. Though democracy allows a space for dissent, we have reached a stage where dissent is viewed as unpardonable and is even used against people. Here, it is worthwhile to recall our Hon’ble Rashtrapatiji's recent remark about the need to recognize the Argumentative Indian instead of the Intolerant Indian. I feel that our Parliamentarians should volunteer to foster healthier and more constructive debates in society by strongly correcting the pessimistic trends in our political discourses.
A parliamentarian fulfills the most significant duty of leading the 'nation building' activity in any democracy. With the introduction of the MPLAD scheme, every Member now gets the added responsibility of directly ensuring development in the constituency. As the author of the Constitution Bench [5 Judges] of Supreme Court of India who gave the verdict upholding the constitutional validity of the MPLAD scheme, I have the personal satisfaction of having been party to the rise of a new development culture in our country. As a person hailing from farming community and originated from a remote village in Tamil Nadu, I am aware of the welfare measures being implemented by our MPs and MLAs in their constituencies.
However, I would like to suggest that the developmental initiatives of MPs should give more impetus to projects that promote renewable energy in society. It would also be good if the active attention of Members turned to projects that would benefit groups like Trans-genders, Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes.
In conclusion, I would say that the Sansad Ratna Awards would ultimately benefit our society; as such recognitions will encourage Parliamentarians to think of more innovative development initiatives. I compliment Shri K. Srinivasan and Prime Point Foundation for taking initiative to conduct this function in a befitting manner.
I greet everyone present here and wish them all the best.
Thank you
Jai Hind
