Mumbai, April 26: He can judge length and turn quicker than most but this “googly” from the government had kept Sachin Tendulkar undecided at the crease for over a month. He eventually said “yes” today at the request of none other than Sonia Gandhi.
Tendulkar, 39, is set to become the first cricketer and active sportsperson to become a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha, following the President’s acceptance of a recommendation from the government.
“The process is expected to get cleared in the next two days and will be announced by Monday,” a Congress MP from Mumbai said soon after the cricketer and wife Anjali met Sonia at 10 Janpath today.
“It will look nice if he comes to Parliament; (it) will encourage sports,” Congress spokesperson Renuka Choudhary said in New Delhi before adding tongue-in-cheek: “We will throw a googly and he would bat.”
Another nomination has been made for actress Rekha, 57, a recipient of several national awards. Industrialist-cum-social worker Anu Agha has also been nominated.
For Tendulkar, the offer from the Congress had come right after he had scored his 100th international ton on March 15, against Bangladesh at the Asia Cup in Dhaka. But the batsman had been wary, having steadfastly steered clear of politics through his cricketing career.
As a nominated member, he will not be linked with any party unless, under the anti-defection law, he declares a desire for such association within six months.
Tendulkar’s nomination comes against the backdrop of a longstanding demand for awarding him with the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honour.
“(Some of) our party leaders who are close to Sachin had intimated the government that he was agreeable to the Rajya Sabha nomination,” the Mumbai MP said.
“Although he wanted to be seen as apolitical, they said he would not refuse if Soniaji asked him.”
Sonia had invited Tendulkar and Anjali to congratulate the cricketer on his completion of 100 centuries in Tests and ODIs combined. They were accompanied by IPL boss and Congress MP Rajiv Shukla.
“Sachin met Mrs Gandhi today with wife Anjali. He could not refuse her when she mentioned the Rajya Sabha nomination. She has such a charming way about her,” a source close to the cricketer said. “They were with Mrs Gandhi for nearly half an hour. She was very warm. And when she smilingly asked him why he was refusing her party’s nomination to grace the Rajya Sabha, Sachin gave in.”
The Mumbai MP said the recommendation for Tendulkar’s Rajya Sabha nomination had been sent out from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) to the home ministry yesterday, a day after the cricketer’s birthday.
Article 80 of the Constitution allows the government to nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha. The nominees need to have special knowledge or practical experience in fields such as literature, science, the arts and social service.
Four such nominees’ terms have ended, but the government has not said who the other two replacements would be.
Rekha, who won a million hearts of a generation a little older than Sachin fans, is not known for her political interests. Anu Agha, who is a member of the Sonia-led National Advisory Council and a Padma Shri, is the chairperson of Thermax, a leading Indian firm in energy and environment management.
The Rajya Sabha is gearing up to greet its star member. Trinamul Congress MP Derek O’Brien tweeted that “currently seat number 100 in Rajya S is Ashok Ganguly fmr Chairman HLL. He just told me he’ll move to a nearby seat and give @sachin_rt 100.”
