CRICKET icon Sachin Tendulkar is set to enter a new field with President Pratibha Patil today approving his nomination,as well as that of actress Rekha and businesswoman and National Advisory Council member Anu Aga,as members of the Rajya Sabha. This came a day after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh recommended the names to the Home Ministry,which forwarded it to the President. On Thursday,Tendulkar and his wife Anjali called on Sonia Gandhi who congratulated him on his 100th international century. He is also learnt to have sought an appointment with the Prime Minister. The cricketers nomination comes in the backdrop of a growing clamour for confering the Bharat Ratna on him. The Maharashtra government recently recommended his name for the countrys highest civilian award. There were also demands from several quarters to confer the Khel Ratna on the cricketer. With pressure mounting to honour him,the UPA government was learnt to have decided to nominate him for the Rajya Sabha. Under Article 80 of the Constitution,the President can nominate 12 persons having special knowledge or practical experience in matters such as literature,science,art and social service. Tendulkar,39,will be the first active sportsperson to be nominated in the Rajya Sabha. Asked about Tendulkars nomination,Congress spokesperson Renuka Chowdhury said,It will look nice if he comes to Parliament. It will encourage sports. Senior BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad said,Sachin is a great player. We are proud of him. If Sachin is being nominated surely he would devote some time to the Parliament. Aga,a member of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council,is a director on the board of Thermax,a leading Indian player in energy and environment management. She has written extensively on corporate governance,corporate social responsibility and women empowerment and is keenly involved in issues relating to communal harmony and human rights. She is also actively involved in education for the underprivileged. Rekha joins many distinguished names from the film fraternity who have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha,including Javed Akhtar,Shabana Azmi,Nargis Dutt,Vyjayantimala Bali,Hema Malini,Shyam Benegal,Mrinal Sen,Prithviraj Kapoor and Lata Mangeshkar.
