Odisha Channel Bureau
Pune: Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik was conferred with the prestigious ‘Ideal Chief Minister Award-2018′ at the 8th Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad (Indian Student Parliament) here on Sunday.
Patnaik received the prestigious award from former President of India Pratibha Devisingh Patil in the presence of former Union Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, eminent scientist Raghunath Anant Mashelkar and founder president of MIT World Peace University Vishwanath D. Karad.
Patnaik was chosen for the award for his outstanding commitment, courage and conviction coupled with revolutionary ideas of clean governance aimed at making Odisha an ideal State.
Indian Student Parliament is organised by the Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad Foundation in association with Union Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs, UNESCO Chair of Humanity, and MIT School of Government, MIT World Peace University, Pune.
The award was conferred on Patnaik at the valedictory session of the three-day event held in the afternoon.
A short film on Patnaik’s life and work was shown before he was presented the Ideal Chief Minister Award by Pratibha Devisingh Patil.
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N. Chandrababu Naidu were conferred this Ideal Chief Minister Award previously.
Odisha Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi and BJD legislator Debasish Samantaray, who accompanied Patnaik, were present in the audience.
Patnaik and other dignitaries were welcomed by Rahul V. Karad, founder convenor of Bharatiya Chhatra Sansad and executive president of MIT WPU.
Addressing the gathering of students after accepting the award, Patnaik said that he was still a novice in politics and for him it has been a spiritual experience. He dedicated the award to the people of Odisha.
Speaking about his government’s measures for granting land and property rights to slum dwellers and setting up Tribal Development Councils for the benefit of the tribal, Patnaik said that he had always kept the people as his priority.
The Chief Minister was presented a popular turban of Pune along with a trophy and cash of one lakh rupees on the occasion.
“It is a special occasion for me to address youth from across the country at the 8th Indian Student Parliament in Pune,” Patnaik had tweeted before the award was conferred on him.
The valedictory session of the award ceremony of the Student Parliament was live-streamed in www.bharatiyachhatrasansad.org
Several other eminent personalities were also awarded on the occasion for their contribution in different fields.
Earlier in the day, a session titled `Be Mature: Save Nature’ was organised where Gandhian activist Rajagopal P.V., eminent environmentalist Kartikeya V. Sarabhai was awarded. A resolution calling for saving the environment was passed at the end of the session.
Another session `Satyagraha: 100 Years of Mahatma in India’ was addressed by former Rajya Sabha Member Rajmohan Gandhi, Gandhi Peace Foundation chairman Kumar Prashant and Vice-Chancellor of Vidyasagar University Ranjan Chakarabarti.
Youngest AAP MLA from Punjab Rupinder Kaur Ruby and Shiv Sena MLA from Radhanagari (Maharashtra) Prakashrao Abitkar were felicitated on the occasion.
Apart from the two MLAs, many student leaders also addressed the gathering of students.
