Tendulkar, Rekha, Anu Aga nominated to Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, Apr 27 (PTI) India's cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar, who turned 39 on Tuesday, will now be a Parliamentarian with the government nominating him to the House of Elders, Rajya Sabha, along with yesteryear actress Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga. The nomination of the three eminent personalities was approved by President Pratibha Patil on Thursday night under Article 80 of the Indian Constitution which allows the President to nominate 12 members to the 250-member Upper House. The names of Tendulkar, who has brought many a laurel to the country through his exploits in the game, Rekha, known for her brilliant and emotional portrayals in Hindi cinema in the 80s, and industrialist and social worker Aga had been sent by the Prime Minister to the Home Ministry a day earlier for approval by the President. 70-year-old Aga, former chairperson of Thermax Industries and a member of the Sonia Gandhi led National Advisory Council, is a social worker who had figured among the richest Indians in the list by Forbes. Article 80 of the Constitution provides for nomination of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in matters such as literature, science, art and social service. 57-year-old Rekha was one of the top heroines of the 80s in Hindi films and and had won several national awards in her acting career. Tendulkar's nomination to Rajya Sabha has come as a surprise against the backdrop of a long-standing demand for conferring the country's highest national civilian award of Bharat Ratna on him for his contribution to the game. Tendulkar, who has been playing for the country since 1989 and is now the longest serving player in cricket, completed a historic feat of scoring 100 international centuries in March this year. Tendulkar would be the first active sportsman and a cricketer to be nominated to Rajya Sabha. The House already has a member from the film world in poet, lyricist and script writer Javed Akhtar. Tendulkar is the first sports personality to be nominated to Rajya Sabha while there have been several film personalities who have been nominated in the past. Film personalities who were nominated in the past include Hema Malini, Vyjayantimala, Nargis Dutt, Lata Mangeshkar and Sivaji Ganesan. PTI Caption for pic: Combo pic of Sachin Tendulkar (left), Rekha (centre) and Anu Aga who have been nominated to Rajya Sabha, the upper house of India's Parliament. PTI Photo