Zeenews Sports Bureau
New Delhi: He has never set a foot wrong in the cricket field or off it. But now, Sachin Tendulkar finds himself in the middle of an altogether different ball game as he is likely to begin his political innings by taking oath as a Rajya Sabha MP today.
On Thursday, the government had nominated Sachin along with veteran actor Rekha and business leader Anu Aga to the Rajya Sabha, which was approved by the President of India, Smt. Pratibha Patil under Article 80 of the Constitution that allows the President to nominate 12 members to the 250-member Upper House.
Tendulkar, accompanied by his wife Anjali, had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi at her residence on Thursday and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had sent a communication to the Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday which was sent to President Pratibha Patil for notification, sources said.
The Little Master who turned 39 on Tuesday, has scored 51 centuries from 188 Tests and 49 tons from 463 ODIs he has played so far in his international career spanning nearly 23 years. Tendulkar would be the first active sportsman and a cricketer to be nominated to Rajya Sabha.
Tendulkar`s nomination to the Upper House has come as a surprise to many. Nonetheless, the chorus to confer him with the Bharat Ratna for bringing laurels to the country has been doing the rounds for long. People from all walks of life, from politicians to sportsperson to movie stars have been demanding that he be bestowed with the highest honour in the country.
With Sachin still going strong and retirement not in the offing for the time being, it will be interesting to see whether the batting legend can take out time to attend the Parliament. The duration of the membership of the Rajya Sabha is for six years.
A nominated member can also associate himself with a political party in the House provided he gives a declaration within six months.
Meanwhile the BCCI welcomed Sachin’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha, saying that the iconic batsman deserves such an honour.
BCCI Chief Administrative Officer Prof Ratnakar Shetty said that the Board was happy with the government`s move. "We (BCCI) are happy that Tendulkar`s services as a sportsperson has been recognised. He`s been a true ambassador for the country and he deserves it," he said.
(with PTI inputs)
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device to enhance site navigation, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts.
Cookies Setting
By clicking “Accept All Cookies”, you agree to the storing of cookies on your device and the processing of information obtained via those cookies (including about your preferences, device and online activity) by us and our commercial partners to enhance site navigation, personalise ads, analyze site usage, and assist in our marketing efforts. More information can be found in our Cookies and Privacy Policy. You can amend your cookie settings to reject non-essential cookies by clicking Cookie Settings below.
Manage Consent Preferences
Strictly Necessary Cookies
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work or you may not be able to login.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then some or all of these services may not function properly.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advert as well as help measure the effectiveness of an advertising campaign. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we may not know when you have visited our site, and may not be able to monitor its performance.