President Patil approves nomination of Sachin, Rekha to Rajya Sabha

New Delhi, Apr 26 (ANI): President Pratibha Devisingh Patil has reportedly approved nomination of batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar and veteran actor Rekha to the Rajya Sabha.

Tendulkar, who has brought many laurels to the nation through his remarkable achievement in the game of cricket, met Congress President Sonia Gandhi at her residence here earlier in the day.

Tendulkar is the leading run-scorer and century maker in Test and one-day international cricket. He is the first player to score a double century in ODI cricket.

In 2002, just 12 years into his career, Wisden ranked Tendulkar the second greatest Test batsman of all time, behind Donald Bradman, and the second greatest one-day-international (ODI) batsman of all time, behind Viv Richards. He was also a part of the 2011 Cricket World Cup winning Indian team.

Rekha, 57, is noted for her versatility and acknowledged as one of the finest actresses in Hindi cinema.

Rekha has acted in over 180 films in a career spanning over 40 years. Throughout her career, she has often played strong female characters and, apart from mainstream cinema, appeared in arthouse films, known in India as parallel cinema.

She has won three Filmfare Awards, two for Best Actress and one for Best supporting actress, for her roles in Khubsoorat (1980), Khoon Bhari Maang (1988) and Khiladiyon Ka Khiladi (1996), respectively.

Her portrayal of a classical courtesan in Umrao Jaan (1981) won her the National Film Award for best actress.

The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, sent a communication to the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday, which was sent to President Patil for notification. (ANI)