New Delhi: The Rajya Sabha on Thursday congratulated the members who were conferred with the best parliamentarian awards by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Soon after the house met for the day, Chairman M. Venkaiah Naidu said it was indeed a matter of great prestige for this house that Leader of Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad and former member Nazma Heptulla along with three Lok Sabha members have been conferred with the best parliamentarian awards.

"He has been a great source of support for me along with Leader of the House Arun Jaitley," he said praising the administrative acumen, deep insight and effective oratory of Azad and Heptulla.

Speaking on the achievements of Azad and Heptulla, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Vijay Goel also praised both the leaders and recalled their contributions.

"As a Leader of Opposition Azad has established himself as an ideal parliamentarian. As Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, he ruled effectively," he said.

The entire house joined hands with Naidu in congratulating the award winners.

Aimed to motivate elected representatives to work better, President Ram Nath Kovind had on Wednesday presented the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award for the years 2013-2017.

While the 2017 Outstanding Parliamentary award went to Biju Janata Dal (BJD) leader in the Lok Sabha Bhartruhari Mahtab, Trinamool Congress member of lower House Dinesh Trivedi took away the award for 2016.

Azad received the award for 2015. For the year 2013 and 2014, Kovind conferred the award upon former Rajya Sabha member Najma Heptulla and Lok Sabha Member Hukumdev Narayan Yadav respectively.