NEW DELHI: Sports icon PT Usha is among four illustrious names from India’s non-political arena nominated to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Also nominated alongside the “Payyoli Express” were music maestro Ilaiyaraaja, acclaimed screenwriter V Vijayendra Prasad and philanthropist and spiritual leader Veerendra Heggade.
The common thread linking all the nominees is that they hail from South India. While Ilaiyaraaja hails from Tamil Nadu and Usha from Kerala, Prasad is from Telangana and Heggade from Karnataka.
Usha ruled track and field events in the 1980s. She has won 11 medals in Asian Games, including four Gold at the 1986 Seoul Games. She missed the medal by a whisker in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics where she finished fourth.
After her retirement from competitive athletics, she started the Usha School of Athletics, training more than 100 national and international-level athletes. “The remarkable PT Usha Ji is an inspiration for every Indian. Her accomplishments in sports are widely known but equally commendable is her work to mentor budding athletes over the last several years,” Prime Minister Narendra Modi said while announcing her nomination.
Indian Express reports that out of the 245 members of Rajya Sabha, 12 are nominated by the President on the recommendation of the Union government. They are nominated under Article 80(3) of the Constitution, according to which they should have special knowledge or practical experience in matters like literature, science, art and social service.
A nominated member, however, is allowed to join a political party within the first six months of taking a seat.
