Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday honoured senior advocate Fali Sam Nariman with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and said Nariman was one of the best eminent jurists in India.
Addressing the event, Naidu applauded Nariman’s significant contributions in the field of jurisprudence. “Nariman is truly an example to be emulated by practitioners of law around the world… He is one of India’s most distinguished constitutional lawyers.”
On Shastri, Naidu said, “Lal Bahadur Shastri was an exemplary leader. His humility, courage, determination, integrity and moral uprightness were legendary….”
Delivering the introductory speech, Anil Shastri, son of the former Prime Minister, recalled an incident at his school. “In October 1964, when he was the Prime Minister, my father, like always, came to St Columba’s School (in Delhi) to collect my marksheet. He stood outside XI-D classroom. When the teacher noticed the PM waiting outside, he said that the school would have sent the marksheet to the PM’s residence. To this, Shastri-ji told the teacher, ‘It seems after I have become the PM you have changed. I have not (changed)’.”
In his acceptance speech, Nariman referred to this incident and said, “This is such a touching incident. I remember that the Pakistan Prime Minister was taller than Shastri-ji. But looking at his legacy, I always thought he (Shastri) was such a tall leader.”
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Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu on Monday honoured senior advocate Fali Sam Nariman with Lal Bahadur Shastri National Award for Excellence in Public Administration and said Nariman was one of the best eminent jurists in India.
“We are all seeing the turbulence in the legal fraternity including the judiciary. We have seen what happened in recent days. Keeping all these in mind I call upon the young law practitioners to stand for justice,” Naidu said after felicitating Nariman at his official residence.
“He is was one of the best eminent jurists in India and this felicitation doesn’t add any glory to him. Instead, this honour makes the younger generation to take him as an inspiration” he added.
Naidu said that Nariman had always displayed an impeccable sense of justice, a deep sense of duty and profound concern for his fellow human beings.
Nariman is a distinguished Indian Constitutional jurist and senior advocate to the Supreme Court of India. Over the years, he has been the recipient of several honours and awards, both at national and international levels.
Remembering former Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri, Naidu said that his integrity, wartime leadership and role in the shaping of the Green and White Revolutions remain an inspiration for the entire country.
The Vice President also asked the youth to follow the values of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru.
“Your ideologies may be different but one should follow the values of Gandhi and Nehru whose ideas were to serve the poorest of the poor” he added.