As the government is struggling to bring members of opposition parties on board for passage of key bills, including crucial GST bill, Human Resource Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar has kick-started an unique initiative to bring Parliamentarians together.
Javadekar, who is known for his innovative skills, started the trend of honouring Parliamentarians who have been in the teaching profession or associated with the field of education on the occasion of ‘Guru Poornima’.
Speaking at the event, he said while sometimes a wrong image of Parliament gets projected, it is actually filled with luminaries of various fields, be it education, medicine or other professions. Several MPs are highly educated, he said.
Javadekar said there are around 50 MPs who have contributed to the field of teaching. The event was held at the Parliament House complex and those felicitated were given a ‘Tulsi’ plant and a CD containing Gandhiji's works.
Deputy Speaker of Rajya Sabha PJ Kurien, Union minister Jitendra Singh, Congress MP Karan Singh, former ministers KV Thomas, Saugato Roy (TMC) and BJP leader Subramanian Swamy were among the MPs who were felicitated.
Javadekar said that former PM Manmohan Singh was also expected to attend the event but could not do so because he was unwell. The BJP MP Satyanarain Jatiya chanted Sanskrit shlokas and Karan Singh conveyed his wishes to the new HRD minister.