Port Blair, March 26: The Member of Parliament of the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma, has once again made Andaman & Nicobar Islands proud as he has been awarded the Sansad Ratna Award yesterday (25.03.2023) for the second consecutive year.
The prestigious award was given in recognition of his cumulative performance in questions, private members’ bills and member’s debate in the Parliament from the beginning of the 17th Lok Sabha till the end of the Winter Session 2022.
Expressing his gratitude to the people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, the Sharma said that he considered himself extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to serve them.
Sharma dedicated the award to the people of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, saying that the award is not his achievement, but of the Islanders.
The Sansad Ratna Award is one of the highest recognitions given to the Members of Parliaments for their outstanding work in the Parliament. Dr. John Brittas, Dr. Manoj Kumar Jha, Smti. Fauzia Tahseen Ahmed Khan, Shri. Vishambhar Prasad Nishad, Smti.Chhaya Verma , the 5 MPs out of the 245 Rajya Sabha MPs along with the 8 MPs out of 543 MPs in the Lok Sabha; Shri.Bidyut Baran Mahato, Dr.Sukanta Majumdar, Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma, Dr. Heena Vijayakumar Gavit, Shri. Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, Shri. Gopal Chinayya Shetty, Shri. Sudhir Gupta and Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe were honoured with this prestigious award. Two Standing Committees – The Finance Committee from Lok Sabha and Transport, Tourism & Culture Committee from Rajya Sabha were also honoured with this award.
Shri Kuldeep Rai Sharma was presented with the Sansad Ratna Award by the Hon’ble Governor of Haryana, Shri Bandaru Dattatreya, in the presence of the esteemed guests, including Hon’ble Minister of State, Parliamentary Affairs & Culture, Government of India, Shri Arjun Ram Meghwal, and Hon’ble Chairman, National Commission for Backward Classes, Government of India, and Shri. Hansraj G Ahir.
The award was conferred on the basis of Shri. Sharma’s outstanding performance in the Parliament, where he has actively participated in 817 debates, raised 510 questions, and introduced 6 private member’s bills.
Sharma has raised important issues for the people of islands, including the Reservation of Posts in Government Establishments of Andaman & Nicobar Islands Bill, 2019, which calls for 100% job reservation for local youths and The Constitution (Amendment) Bill, 2019 (insertion of new article 239C), which calls for creation of a legislative assembly in Andaman & Nicobar Islands.
Kuldeep Rai Sharma has expressed his sincere gratitude to the esteemed jury.