india

Updated: Nov 06, 2019 06:14 IST

The two Houses of Parliament -- Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha-- are likely to congratulate Indian-American Abhijit Banerjee for being awarded the 2019 Nobel Economics Prize, officials said on Tuesday.

Senior officials from both Houses added on the condition of anonymity that such remarkable achievements at the world stage are generally feted in the two Houses.

When Amartya Sen got the Nobel Prize, a congratulatory message on him was read out in both Houses. Such a message, read out by the Chair in the House, indicates the sense of the House and becomes a part of the record of the House.

It is also considered as a top honour bestowed by the Indian Parliament to non-members as such messages are not read out in the House frequently.

“Only remarkable achievements are celebrated in such a way in Indian Parliament,” underlined an official.

Banerjee’s top honour, however, met with some critical voices within the BJP establishment with some ministers even questioning his professionalism. But Prime Minister Narendra Modi quickly moved to put a lid on such efforts to demean his credit and honour. Modi met Banerjee in Delhi and also tweeted, “His passion towards human empowerment is clearly visible. We had a healthy and extensive interaction on various subjects. India is proud of his accomplishments.”