More intriguing than Sachin Tendulkar’s nomination to the Rajya Sabha is why it has generated so much controversy. Even assuming he is going to be too busy to give time to parliamentary work, there have been others who were nominated in the past who hardly showed up in Parliament — Lata Mangeshkar sticks in memory — but who did not invite such a wave of protest. Nor did Mani Shankar Aiyer’s nomination invite such a howl of criticism, though he was a member of the ruling party nominated after he lost the Lok Sabha polls.
Baba Ramdev suspects a design behind the move, and Bal Thackeray has dubbed it ‘dirty’ politics, the argument being that a beleaguered UPA has plumped for Tendulkar because it wants to bask in his reflected glory. It would be naive to believe that the Congress couldreverse the prevalent climate by nominating Sachin to the Rajya Sabha. For, the reasons for the Congress decline — and what ails it — lie elsewhere. Or that Sachin, just because he has been nominated, is about to join the Congress party and become its brand ambassador. He has clarified that he will remain a cricketer. Given the reaction that the news provoked, it seems this is what the Congress’ opponents are most worried about.
Others have argued that Sachin cannot be nominated because there is no category like ‘sports’, under which he can be nominated — the specified categories are culture, literature, science and social work. But speaking about the rational for having nominated members in the upper house, Jawaharlal Nehru had argued in May 1953 that they represented ‘the high watermark of literature, culture or whatever it may be.’ It is not just litterateurs, scientists, artists or social workers who have been nominated over the years but also lawyers, educationists, administrators, journalists, andeven an ornithologist like Salim Ali.
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