Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and Bollywood actor Rekha are among four
eminent persons who have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the UPA
government.
Tendulkar, 39, who has 100 international centuries to his credit, and
Rekha, 57, who made a name for herself in the 1980s in the Hindi filmdom
through a variety of roles she played with ease and brilliance, will
become members under Article 80 of the Constitution, which allows the
President to nominate to the Rajya Sabha 12 members having special
knowledge of, or practical experience in, literature, science, art and
social service.
One of the top heroines of yesteryear, Rekha has won many prestigious awards during her career.
She won accolades and the national award for her portrayal of ‘Umrao Jaan' in Muzaffar Ali's film of the same name.
Highly placed government sources said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had
written to the Home Ministry. There was no official word on the other
two names recommended for nomination.
There has been a long-standing demand from several quarters for
conferring the country's highest civilian honour Bharat Ratna on
Tendulkar for his contribution to cricket. He enjoys a phenomenal fan
following in not only India but also many other countries. He scored the
historic 100th international hundred against Bangladesh in Dhaka last
month.
In the recent past, well-known film personalities, including Shyam
Benegal, Mrinal Sen and Lata Mangeshkar, have been nominated to the
Rajya Sabha. The Rajya Sabha now has seven nominated members.
