‘Will certainly enrich Parliamentary proceedings’, said Prime Minister Narendra Modi as he took to Twitter on Wednesday to congratulate all the four presidential nominees
From left: PT Usha, Ilaiyaraaja, Vijayendra Prasad and Veerendra Heggade. Photo composite: Wikimedia Commons & PTI
Keeping with its ethos of inclusivity, the NDA government has nominated four legendary personalities — a woman, a Dalit, and a member of a religious minority (Jain community) — to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday
Former Olympic track and field athlete PT Usha, screenwriter and film director Vijayendra Prasad, philanthropist Veerendra Heggade and legendary film composer Ilaiyaraaja were nominated.
The four personalities have been selected from four southern states — PT Usha (Kerala), Ilaiyaraaja (Tamil Nadu), Veerendra Heggade (Karnataka) and Vijayendra Prasad (Andhra Pradesh).
The prime minister took to Twitter to congratulate them all.
Here’s what you need to know about the Rajya Sabha nominees:
PT Usha
Born in a small village in Kozhikode, Kerala, she is one of India’s most iconic sportspersons. Usha 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, she has represented the country and won medals 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.
In the 1984 Olympics, she missed winning India’s first medal in track and field in a photo-finish as she stood fourth in women’s 400M hurdles and lost the Bronze medal by 1/100 second.
She is a recipient of the Arjuna award and the Padma Shri.
Following her retirement, she started the Usha School of Athletics, which offers world-class facilities to talented youngsters. Numerous athletes trained and mentored by her have gone on
to represent the country and win medals at prestigious national and international competitions.
R Gnanathesikan, known as Ilaiyaraaja
Born in a Dalit household in a village in Madurai, Tamil Nadu, Ilaiyaraaja is regarded as one of India’s greatest music composers. During his career, he had to face innumerable hardships and caste-based discrimination. However, he overcame all such hurdles and emerged as one of the
country’s leading musicians.
In a career spanning more than five decades, he has composed over 7,000 songs for more than 1,000 movies and performed in more than 20,o00 concerts across the world. He has been awarded both the Padma Vibhushan and Padma Bhushan.
He has also received numerous laurels in his career, including five national film awards and the Sangeet Natak Akademi Award.
Veerendra Heggade
Heggade has served as the Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple in Karnataka since he was 20. He has been a devoted philanthropist for more than five decades and 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. The Central government replicated this successful model and established Rural Self Employment
Training Institutes (RSETIs) across the country.
He 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 6 lakh SHGs and over 49 lakh members. Besides, he also heads the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Educational Trust, which provides quality and affordable
education through more than 25 schools and colleges.
Apart from these, he has led numerous initiatives for providing access to quality healthcare, social welfare, and preserving our cultural heritage. He was awarded the Padma Vibhushan in 2015.
KV Vijayendra Prasad
Born in Kovvur, Andhra Pradesh, Prasad is one of the country’s leading screenwriters and film
directors. He has written the story for many prominent Telugu and Hindi movies including the highest-grossing Indian movies, such as RRR, the Baahubali series, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
Some of the movies he scripted have transcended regional boundaries and become blockbusters across the country, a rare achievement, that is crucial for national integration and cultural unity. He has been instrumental in instilling cultural pride and nationalistic spirit through cinema.
He has won numerous awards for story writing, including the Filmfare Award for best story in 2016 for Bajrangi Bhaijaan. His son SS Rajamouli is one of the country’s most famous film directors.
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