Gandhinagar, Sep 24 (IANS): Following the example of bestowing awards on the best parliamentarians in both the houses of Parliament, the Gujarat assembly on Thursday set a new precedent of honouring the best state legislators in Gujarat.

Accordingly Mohansinh Rathwa from the Congress and Bhupendrasinh Chudasama from the BJP were honoured with the best MLA Award for 2019 and 2020 respectively.

Based on the parameters for honouring parliamentarians in both houses of Parliament and the standards set by other states for honouring their legislators, the rules for the Gujarat best MLA Award were published in June 2020.

A legislator's knowledge of the rules and precedents of the house, their implementation, public interest issues awareness, effective delivery of issues in the house, legislator's public life and behaviour, role in maintaining the decorum of the house, cooperation in the proper functioning of the house etc are taken into account for giving the award.

Based on these parameters, the Assembly committee constituted for the award, selected senior Congressmen Mohansinh Rathwa from Chhota Udepur and senior BJP leader Bhupendrasinh Chudasama from Dholka constituency, as Best MLAs for 2019 and 2020 respectively.

Both the legislators were honoured with the award trophy which is made of 92.5% pure silver, bearing an engraving of the Gujarat Assembly building and weighing 1.5 kilogram.

"After the setting up of the state in 1960, this is a historic moment, where for the first time legislators were honoured through such an award. It is my belief that this is not only an award where deserving legislators are honoured, but the decorum of the award should also be elevated through deserving persons," said Speaker Rajendra Trivedi.

"I thank Speaker Rajendra Trivedi and the entire house for honouring me with this award and selecting me as the first person to receive it thereby creating history. This is a significant precedent started in the state," said Mohansinh Rathwa in the house.

"In my 53 years of public life, I've been honoured with such an award which is entirely due to all the nurturing of my political career. My political life was nurtured and influenced especially by Narendra Modi and the late senior BJP leader Ashok Bhatt. I congratulate Mohansinh Rathwa and thank the entire house for honouring me," said Bhupendrasinh Chudasama.

Gujarat Speaker Rajendra Trivedi had conceptualized the award for best legislators in the state and had assured Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla of initiating such an award during the Presiding Officers Conference in Dehradun.