MPs win awards for their performance

In the past five years, S.S. Ramasubbu, member of Parliament from Tirunelveli, has learnt that it is not an easy task to be a parliamentarian.

“The position comes with much responsibility to represent people’s issues and MPs need knowledge on several issues to speak and debate,” said Mr. Ramasubbu, who was one of the five MPs honoured with Sansad Ratna Awards for outstanding performance in the 15{+t}{+h}Lok Sabha, at a function on Saturday.

A two-time MLA, Mr. Ramasubbu was elected to the present Lok Sabha and has won the award for the fifth time. This year, he has secured the second rank among the MPs for raising maximum number of questions, for attendance and active participation in debates. “When there is commotion in the House, I get disappointed as I won’t get a chance to speak for my constituency,” he says.

The other award-winning MPs were Hansraj Gangaram Ahir, Gajanan Dharmshi Babar and Shivaji Adhalrao Patil from Maharashtra, and Rama Devi from Bihar. Giving away the awards, former chief election commissioner N. Gopalaswami said honouring MPs for positive performance was a good initiative.

K. Srinivasan of Prime Point Foundation that instituted the awards said the MPs were chosen based on the data released by PRS India and Lok Sabha secretariat from 2009 to 2013.