New Delhi: President Pranab Mukherjee today gave his approval to the names of seven people nominated to the Rajya Sabha. The list includes the names of senior BJP leader Subramanian Swamy, former cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu and Olympian boxer Mary Kom.
Other members who made the cut as nominated members of the Upper House include senior journalist Swapan Dasgupta, economist Dr Narendra Jadhav and Malayalam actor Suresh Gopi have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha.
The list, which was approved by the Union Cabinet and the Prime Minister's Office on Wednesday, was sent by the government to the President for his assent.
The RS has 12 nominated members in its total strength of 245. At present, the upper House has 10 nominated members.
On the government's recommendation, the President nominates members from those with special knowledge or having made their mark in literature, science, art and social service.
In the 245-member Rajya Sabha, the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) has 67 of which 47 are from the BJP, while the opposition United Progressive Alliance (UPA) has 75 MPs, 65 from the Congress alone.