Ranchi, Nov. 20: The cacophony created by clashes between the Opposition and the Treasury bench may have drowned his voice on several occasions, but Congress legislator Rajendra Prasad Singh was still able to leave his mark in the House.

Governor Ved Marwah will confer the Birsa Munda Best Legislator Award for 2003 on the suave, soft-spoken and well-dressed coal trade union leader, Rajendra Prasad Singh, who represents Bermo in the Assembly, on Saturday.

The decision of the selection committee, headed by Speaker Inder Singh Namdhari, has raised a few eyebrows among Singh’s contenders on the floor, though the “resentment” is muted.

“No one questions Singh’s good nature. But we are given to believe that the award takes into account the actual performance of the member on the floor of the House. This obviously includes the effort put in by the legislator to prepare for House discussions and interject at the right moment. It is all right if the selection committee, in its wisdom, decided that the Bermo MLA scores full point on these counts,” a senior legislator said.

The members of the selection panel were deputy speaker Bagun Sumbrui (Congress), leader of Opposition Stephen Marandi (JMM), former chief minister Babulal Marandi (BJP), Visheshwar Khan (CPI), HRD minister P.N. Singh (BJP) and the resident editor of a Hindi daily. Namdhari said Singh’s name was arrived at after a long process during which quite a few other names had also cropped up.

When constituted in 2001, the award went to Visheshwar Khan who is the seniormost member of the House. Last year, JMM’s Salkhan Murmu was its second recipient.

The honour is in line with the “best parliamentarian of the year” award constituted by Parliament a few years ago. An Assembly communiqué said Singh was being conferred the award for his “long tenure as a legislator and excellent conduct inside the House”.

Namdhari said the panel took into account various factors, which included the member’s conduct inside and outside the House, besides his performance on the floor.

A legislator from the BJP is still to be conferred the honour that carries a cash prize of Rs 51,000, apart from a shawl and a citation.

The Assembly also honoured late BJP leader Lalit Oraon by unveiling his portrait in one of the galleries today. Speakers recalled the simplicity and integrity of the leader who was a member of the Bihar Assembly for several terms, besides representing Lohardagga in the Lok Sabha.

Three staff members of the Assembly secretariat — under-secretary Ayodhyanath Singh, section officer Syed Javed Haider and assistant Giridhar Poddar — will also be awarded on November 22 for good work. The celebrations will begin with a performance by ghazal singer Pankaj Udhas tomorrow night.