Antony presents awards to Noorani, Barkha

Kozhikode, Nov 3 : Defence Minister A K Antony today conferred the prestigious C H Mohammed Koya National Journalism Award 2009 to distinguished columnist A G Noorani and NDTV Group Editor Barkha Dutt here today.

Speaking after presenting the awards, he justified the decision of the judging committee stating that ''they deserved the awards 101 per cent'' for their invaluable contributions to print and visual medias' respectively.

Recollecting the contributions made by former Kerala Chief Minister C H Mohammed Koya, Mr Antony said the late Indian Union Muslim League leader was able to maintain his secular credential despite his commitment and contribution to his community.

The award carries a purse of Rs 1,111,11 and plaque to each.

Another awardee noted journalist Jayachandran Nair was unable to reach the city to receive the award due to certain inconvenience.

Minister of State for Railways E Ahamed, former Kerala Minister P K Kunhalikutty, M K Muneer, M K Raghagan, and P V Abdul Wahab, MPs, were among those present.

Earlier, Mr Antony participated in functions, including ground breaking ceremony of Markz Museum to be launched by Markazu Saquafathi Sunniyya (MSS) at Karanthur in the district.

Minister of State for Home Mullappally Ramachandran laid the foundation stone for a digital library to be built by MSS.

--UNI

(c) 2009 Published with permission from United News of India.
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