The Vice President of India, Shri M. Hamid Ansari has said that it is the duty of the elected representatives of the people of India to prevent erosion of the vitality and spirit of democracy that is the lifeblood of our Parliament. He was addressing the gathering after giving away the Lokmat Parliamentary Awards 2017, here today. The former Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, the former Governor of Punjab, Shri Shivraj Patil, the former Union Minister for Urban Development, Housing & Urban Poverty Alleviation and Information & Broadcasting, Shri M. Venkaiah Naidu, the Union Minister for Road Transport & Highways and Shipping, Shri Nitin Gadkari, Members of Parliament and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.The Vice President said that the personal conduct and credibility of the parliamentary representative provides assurance to the public in the efficacy of the institutions of Parliamentary democracy. He further said that a parliamentarian must believe in democracy, be a bridge between overarching national interests and the local dynamics and have the ability to communicate effectively with an economy of words. The Parliamentarians we honour today all posses these qualities in good measure, he added.