Bhubaneswar: Odisha chief minister Naveen Patnaik has added another feather to his cap on Sunday. On the concluding day of the 8th Indian Student Parliament, Naveen was conferred the "Adarsh Mukhyamantri" (ideal chief minister) award at Pune's MIT School of Government.

The chief minister, who was adjudged the " best administrator" of the country last year by a national-level magazine, dedicated the award to the "four and a half crore" people of Odisha who have reposed faith in his government for the last 17 years.

Naveen received the honour from former President Pratibha Devisingh Patil in the presence of several dignitaries, including former Union minister and BJP veteran Murli Manohar Joshi.

He said despite being a political novice 20 years ago when he could barely have imagined becoming Odisha's longest service chief minister, today he could say with conviction that politics was not complicated and that it was the most powerful instrument for bringing about change in the lives of people.

In his speech, Naveen invoked Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and his father, Biju Patnaik, while underscoring the need to connect with the lowest strata of the society. Quoting Mahatma's famous lines about recalling the face of the poorest and the weakest when taking a decision, the chief minister said six months ago he applied the same while dealing with urban slum dwellers.

He said instead of treating them as encroachers and evicting them, his government recognised their contributions and decided to provide them land rights.

"This has been done for the first time in the country and they say it is path-breaking and historic. When you keep people first, it is good politics," he said. Naveen also touched upon issues such as evolution of technology and man's quest for perfection with Twitter and Facebook becoming integral parts of "our lives." But his focus throughout the speech was on "good governance and selfless public service", which he described as the pillars of democracy.

Sources said the BJD was gearing up to organise a grand reception for Naveen on his return just as it did when he returned to Bhubaneswar from Delhi last August with the "best administrator" award.