New Delhi, Dec 13 (UNI) Expressing concerns over the functioning of the Parliament and frequent disruptions of proceedings of both house, Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu on Thursday said political parties should evolve a code of conduct for their members.
Speaking after giving away the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards 2018 here to eight Parliamentarians, including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar , BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Hema Malini and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad , the Vice President said that he felt 'sad' as today the house was not able to proceed with its business after paying tributes to the security personnel and a mediaperson who lost their life during the attack on Parliament on December 13 2001.
Eight Parliamentarians, including NCP supremo Sharad Pawar , BJP leaders Murli Manohar Joshi and Hema Malini and Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad were shortlisted for the Lokmat parliamentary Awards 2018 for their contributions and performance in strengthening Parliamentary Democracy.
The Members of Parliament were selected by the Lokmat Parliamentary Jury board for eight categories.
NCP supremo Sharad Pawar and Dr Murli Manohar Joshi will be honored with life time achievement award as parliamentarians.
The list also includes BJP MP Hema Malini, Leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Ghulam Nabi Azad and Nishikant Dubey.
Addressing the gathering, Mr Naidu said that many a time people indulge in blame game over issues, which ultimately disrupted the functioning the temple of Democracy.
He also appealed to all the political parties that it was important to make sure that the Parliament functions effectively.
' It is time now . We are a mature democracy. The entire world is looking towards India and India has now become aspirational with younger generation,' he said.
Commenting on the role of media in the coverage of parliamentary proceedings, Mr Naidu said that the media should report parliamentary proceedings in a meaningful way so that people gain knowledge.
He also expressed concern over fake news and other such practices like spreading news which is not based on concrete facts , by some media houses.
He said the conduct of the parliamentarians need to be evaluated by the political parties.
The Vice President said that as a Parliamentarian whatever word one utters , whatever statement made matters a lot.
'Being in the position of a Parliamentarian, certain standards need to be maintained,' he said.
Former Jammu and Kashmir CM and MP Lok Sabha Farooq Abdullah , who was also present on the occasion also expressed concerns on the way Parliament proceedings went on these days. Sharing his experience as a senior parliamentarian he said that in earlier days the atmosphere of the house was very calm and composed Even sharp allegations and statements were heard with calmness and everyone functioned in a very dignified manner.
He said that it was important to focus on the conduct because the whole nation and especially the young generation looks at the parliamentarians.
Senior politician Murli Manohar Joshi also stressed on the Parliamentary language and conduct.
Mr Joshi was conferred with the lifetime achievement award as Member of Lok Sabha.
The Lokmat jury selected woman MPs from both the houses for their outstanding work which included Ms Kanimozhi , Chhaya Verma ( for best Debuting woman Parliamentarian ) and Rama Devi for Best Woman Parliamentarian Lok Sabha.
The awardees were chosen by a jury chaired by Dr murli manohar Joshi . As the chairman, he opposed his name for the lifetime achievement award but the jury board , which also includes former Jammy and kashmir CM Farooq Abdullah, NCP leader Praful Patel, CPI's D Raja , veteran journalist HK Dua and others, overruled Dr Joshi.
Dr Joshi decided to abstain from the meeting where his category was discussed..
UNI APS AR 2126