Sachin 1st Active Sportsperson Nominated To RS God has a new House

Rekha, Anu Aga Also Named To Parliament

New Delhi: A Bharat Ratna might still be a little distant, but cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar will soon be an MP. This will be the first time that an active cricketer, rather any sportsperson, has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha. On Thursday, the Manmohan Singh government nominated Sachin along with veteran actor Rekha and spunky business leader Anu Aga. 

    Sachin's nomination to the House of Elders took political circles by surprise, even though it was in the works for a while. Cricket lovers, too, were bemused with many wondering how an active cricketer who is on the road for around 250 days a year will be able to do justice to his parliamentary duties; and if he couldn't, would the Rajya Sabha entry really enhance his stature. 

    Senior government figures, including MoS for parliamentary affairs Rajiv Shukla, have been in touch with Sachin for a couple of weeks — obviously in the hope that his acceptance of a Rajya Sabha nomination would help burnish the UPA government's credentials. 'Sachin Tendulkar not planning to pack up kit' 

    The calculation appeared correct as no one, including the opposition, had anything but a welcome for the immensely popular cricket star. 

    Sachin, it is said, had sought time to think over the offer. A week ago, he conveyed his acceptance to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi. The news of his nomination, along with that of Rekha and Anu Aga, broke when Sachin with his wife Anjali came to meet Sonia Gandhi at 10 Janpath in the company of Shukla. 

    Tendulkar's nomination comes after he completed a historic 100 international centuries in March this year. It is also seen by some cricket buffs as indicating his retirement in the foreseeable future. 

    However, when asked if his acceptance of a Rajya Sabha nomination indicates a desire to hang up his boots, sources said, "No way. He is not retiring." 

    The home ministry sent the names of Sachin, Rekha and Aga to President Pratibha Patil after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh made the recommendations on Wednesday. Patil approved the recommendation on Thursday, leaving it for the Rajya Sabha secretariat to complete the formalities.

    The names have been cleared against five existing vacancies in the Upper House under the 'nominated members' category. At present, there are seven nominated MPs, including lyricist and script writer Javed Akhtar. 

Times View: Nominating Sachin Tendulkar to the Rajya Sabha may be a populist move, but it makes little sense. There is no doubt about Sachin's greatness as a cricketer. A nomination to Rajya Sabha, however, should not be treated as a means of honouring eminent people but as a way to enrich parliamentary debate by having people with expertise in different fields. Nominating an active sportsperson defeats that purpose. The Indian team spent 292 days on the road last season and Sachin himself was on the road for 216 days. His new role will force Sachin to choose between his duty to the team and his job as a parliamentarian. It's an unfair choice, one we should not compel him to make.

S R TONDULKAR BECOMES RS TENDULKAR

Sachin R Tendulkar (39), CRICKETER 

Highest rungetter 

in Tests and ODIs; also holds the record for most centuries in both formats of the game. Having achieved virtually every conceivable landmark in cricket, may now be preparing for a fresh innings in public life

Rekha (57), ACTRESS 

Has acted in over 180 films in a career spanning over 40 yrs. Filmfare best actress award for Khubsoorat (1980) and Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) and best supporting actress for Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996). Won the National Award for best actress in 

1981 for Umrao Jaan

Anu Aga (69), BUSINESSWOMAN AND SOCIAL ACTIVIST 

Chairperson of energy major Thermax from 1996-2004. Got Padma Shri for social work in 2010. Now chairperson of Teach For India. Was one of the first business leaders to attack Narendra Modi for the Gujarat riots

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