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 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.
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