Kerala Chief Minister Oommen Chandy received the prestigious United Nations Global Award for Public Service at a glittering ceremony held in the Bahrain capital Thursday.
The award was presented to him by UN Under Secretary General Wu Hongbo for his mass contact programme. Chandy was chosen among entries from 50 Asia-Pacific countries.
As soon as Chandy's name was called out, thunderous applause followed from members of the Kerala diaspora sitting among the international audience.
Through his mass contact programme, which he has conducted twice after becoming chief minister (first in 2004 and the second in 2011), Chandy went to each of the 14 districts in the state and directly received petitions from people, standing for more than 19 hours and only leaving after seeing the last petitioner.
This award has been instituted through a UN resolution and selected after a three-tier scrutiny and detailed examination.
Earlier in the day, Chandy called on the ruling family of Bahrain.