New Delhi: Seventeen Members of Parliament — including Bhartruhari Mahtab (BJP, Odisha), N. K. Premachandran (Revolutionary Socialist Party, Kerala), Supriya Sule (NCP-SP, Maharashtra), and Shrirang Appa Barne (Shiv Sena, Maharashtra) were conferred Special Sansad Ratna Awards for maintaining top performance since the 16th Lok Sabha and for their “Outstanding and Consistent Contribution to Parliamentary Democracy.” The awards are conferred by an NGO. The honours also include four Special Jury Awards, recognising their consistent contributions to parliamentary democracy across three successive terms.Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said the other MPs who got recognised were actor turned politician Ravi Kishan (BJP), Nishikant Dubey (BJP), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena-UBT), Smita Uday Wagh (BJP), Naresh Mhaske (Shiv Sena), Varsha Gaikwad (Congress), Medha Kulkarni (BJP), Praveen Patel (BJP), Bidyut Baran Mahato (BJP), Dinesh Sharma (BJP), Dilip Saikia (BJP), P.P. Chaudhary (BJP), Madan Rathore (BJP), C.N. Annadurai (DMK).In the committee category, the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by Bhartruhari Mahtab, and the Standing Committee on Agriculture, chaired by Dr Charanjit Singh Channi (Congress), were recognised for the quality of their reports and contributions to legislative oversight.Meanwhile, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Mr Kiren Rijiju on Saturday said that frequent disruptions in the House hurt the Opposition more, as they lose the crucial opportunity to hold the government accountable. Speaking at the Sansad Ratna Awards event organised by Prime Point Foundation, Rijiju recalled how bureaucrats sometimes express relief when Parliament is adjourned.”Let me tell you, officers are relieved when Parliament doesn’t function because they escape the grilling. The government can be held accountable in Parliament. When the House runs, ministers face tough questions. When it adjourns within minutes, those questions don’t even get raised. Opposition loses more than the government when Parliament is disrupted,” he said.”Those who stall the House think they are damaging the government, but in truth, they are weakening their own role in a democracy,” Rijiju added. Reflecting on his journey in Parliament, Rijiju said he never considered Opposition MPs as adversaries. “We are all colleagues. Before 2014, most of my parliamentary career has been on the Opposition benches. Political rivalries may exist, but there is no enmity,” he said.Calling for more constructive media reporting, Rijiju said, “Earlier, journalists would arrive at 9 am and cover parliamentary debates till night. Good speeches got coverage. Today, headlines go to who created the most ruckus. I remember Sharad Pawar once presented an excellent agriculture policy, but the next day not a single paper mentioned it. So now, MPs chase headlines because good work is neither reported nor recognised.””Negative news drives TRPs, not constructive action. It is a vicious cycle — both the MPs and the media are trapped in it,” he said.
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