Highlights
- PT Usha, a celebrated athlete and iconic composer Ilaiyaraaja have been nominated for Rajya Sabha
- Philanthropist Veerendra Heggade, Baahubali writer Vijayendra Prasad have also been nominated
- The Rajya Sabha had vacancies in the nominated category
Rajya Sabha News: Celebrated athlete PT Usha, iconic composer Ilaiyaraaja, Philanthropist Veerendra Heggade and Film Director & screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad Garu have been nominated for Rajya Sabha.
The Prime Minister shared the information on Twitter and congratulated the nominees for their upcoming political innings.
"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. Congratulations to her on being nominated to the Rajya Sabha," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
He also shared his pictures with Usha and Ilaiyaraaja along with his congratulatory messages in separate tweets.
"The creative genius of @ilaiyaraaja Ji has enthralled people across generations. His works beautifully reflect many emotions. What is equally inspiring is his life journey- he rose from a humble background and achieved so much. Glad that he has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha," Modi said.
The Rajya Sabha had vacancies in the nominated category.
All four members are from southern states
Incidentally, all the four members nominated to the Rajya Sabha are from southern states. While Usha is from Kerala, Ilaiyaraaja hails from Tamil Nadu, Heggade belongs to Karnataka and Prasad is from Andhra Pradesh.
Government sources said that the Rajya Sabha nominations is another instance of the Narendra Modi-led government recognising outstanding Indians who have made a mark in diverse fields.
The four nominated members have had illustrious careers in their respective fields and received national and global recognition for their contributions.
PT Usha, a celebrated athlete popularly known as Payyoli Express
Usha, a celebrated athlete born in a small village in Kozhikode district in Kerala, is one of India's most iconic sportspersons. She has been a role model and inspiration for lakhs of young girls across the country who have dreamt of taking up a career in sports, especially track and field events.
Popularly known as the 'Payyoli Express, Usha has won medals for the country at various international sporting events, including the World Junior Invitational Meet, Asian Championships and Asian Games. She has set and broken many national and Asian records during her career.
At the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, she missed winning India's first medal in a track and field event at the Games in a photo-finish as she stood fourth in women's 400m race, missing out on a bronze by 1/100 second.
Post-retirement, she started the Usha School of Athletics, which offers world-class facilities to talented youngsters. Usha is a recipient of the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri.
Ilaiyaraaja regarded as one of India's greatest music composers
Born in a Dalit household at a village in Madurai district, Ilaiyaraaja is regarded as one of India's greatest music composers. During his long career, Ilaiyaraaja had to face innumerable hardships and caste-based discrimination. However, he overcame all such hurdles and emerged as one of the country's leading music composers.
In a career spanning more than five decades, Ilaiyaraaja has composed over 7,000 songs for more than 1,000 films and performed in more than 20,000 concerts across the globe.
In 2018, he was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan award. He has also been awarded with Padma Bhushan.
Veerendra Heggade, a dedicated philanthropist
Veerendra Heggade has served as the 'Dharmadhikari' of the Dharmasthala Temple in Karnataka since the tender age of 20. He has been a devoted philanthropist for more than five decades. He has led various transformative initiatives for rural development and promotion of self-employment. He established the Rural Development and Self-employment Training Institute (RDSETI) to spread awareness about self-employment opportunities and train rural youth.
Heggade has also conceptualised the Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, an initiative for inclusive rural development and self-employment in Karnataka. Currently, the project has more than six lakh SHGs and over 49 lakh members.
He also heads the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Educational Trust, which provides quality and affordable education through more than 25 schools and colleges. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.
Vijayendra Prasad penned many prominent Telugu, Hindi movies
Vijayendra Prasad is an acclaimed screenwriter and film director, who has penned the scripts of many prominent Telugu and Hindi movies. His notable works include some of the highest-grossing Indian movies such as 'RRR', the 'Baahubali' series, and 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan'. Some of the movies he wrote have transcended sharp regional boundaries and become blockbusters across the country.
(With inputs from IANS, PTI)
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