Respected Rashtrapatiji, Respected Uparastrapathiji, Hon. Speaker Sir, Advaniji, Jaswant Singhji, My Cabinet Colleague Shri Arjun Singhji, Fellow Parliamentarians, friends, Ladies and Gentlemen :

I am deeply moved and honoured by your decision to confer upon me this mark of recognition. In all humility , I must say that this wholly unexpected gesture will rank as one of the high points of my tenure as a member of our nations Parliament.

Friends;

For me, the privilege of being selected for the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award is heightened by the fact that I am in such august company. This Award has earlier been given to some of the most distinguished Parliamentarians of our time, which makes it a truly great honour.

Sir, I am conscious of the compliment that I am being paid by placing my name alongside our respected Speaker, Shri Somnath ji, our senior colleagues and former Prime Ministers Chandra Shekharji and Atalji. My Cabinet colleagues, Pranabji and Jaipal Reddyji have also been recipients of this honour in the past, and today, three other very eminent Parliamentarians—Advaniji, Arjun Singhji and Jaswantji have been similarly honoured. I cannot but say that I feel privileged to be in this company.

Apart form thanking all of you for this mark of recognition , it is only appropriate that i also thank the the people of Assam, whom I have the privilege of representing in the Rajya Sabha since 1991. Without the support of the people and electors of my second home, I would not be where I am today. For this, I cannot but be extremely grateful to the people of Assam.

Friends,

I have been a fascinated observer of our Parliamentary debates for the better part of three decades now. From the Officials gallery I have watched some of the great speakers of the day debate, discuss, parry and thrust, argue and concede many of the defining issues which have shaped of modern India. It has been an invigorating experience for me from which I have been fortunate to learn immensely. In my case, this process of learning was greatly accelerated when I joined the Rajya Sabha, as a first time Member of Parliament, in the early 1990s. As you might recall, a first time Member joins the House with mixed feelings of pleasure and nervousness. In my case, this was heightened by the fact that I was also Finance Minister, and it is a rare moment that a Finance Minister is not the target of criticism for everybody in and out of Parliament!

Friends, Colleagues :

I think an occasion such as this also provides us an opportunity for some introspection. There can be little doubt that the standard of debate and the general atmosphere within which we carry out our business has been declining. I think we will all agree that the increasingly negative public perception of politics as a n instrument of social change and those of us who make it our vocation, is partly due to this decline in standards.

Without pointing fingers, we need to examine whether we are living up to the standards set by great Parliamentarians of the early years of our independence. As inheritors of this great tradition, it is for us to ensure that we set better standards for the future. For instance, we could be better prepared in Parliament, and when in the House, we could be more willing to listen to each other, even if we disagree, for that is the essence and hallmark of democracy.

In that sense, Sir, sustaining the prestige, position and privileges that the Constitution confers upon Parliament as one of the pillars of our Republic, depends upon those of us who are its Members. The day our people begin to lose faith in our institution will also be the day that this important edifice of our Nation will come under pressure. We must not ; We must never let this happen.

Rashtrapatiji, UpaRastapathiji, Hon. Chairman, Hon. Speaker Sir, Colleagues and Friends :

Before I conclude, I would like to reiterate my sincere thanks for doing me this great honour. I would also like to thank all those who have reposed their faith and friendship in me in all these years in Parliament, my illustrious colleagues and presiding officers over the years, from whom I have had the opportunity to learn many things.

Much of what I have achieved, and certainly this act of recognition, is due to all of you.

Thank you once again.