Storm in cyber world over Sachin's RS nomination

“Unfollow Sachin?” exclaims a shocked ‘Pretty Young Thing’ as a high-decibel debate is clogging airwaves and cyberspace, especially Twitter, on the wisdom of having nominated Sachin Tendulkar as a Member of Parliament.

Various arguments were given: the master cricketer has, after all, never distinguished himself for even speaking out, leave alone spellbinding eloquence. Does merely being a famous sportsman equip one to be the voice of the masses? Wouldn’t Tendulkar’s one-time team-mates, Sourav Ganguly or Anil Kumble have been a better choice for a Rajya Sabha nomination?

Another observation is that Tendulkar’s much-reputed integrity may lose some sheen if the busy cricketer ends up finding too little time to attend proceedings in Parliament. This might lead him to be bracketed along with fellow Mumbaikar and veteran singer Lata Mangeshkar, noted for her poor record of attendance in the Rajya Sabha.

 

On the brighter side for Tendulkar, Twitter does have its set of his fans who feel he has done nothing wrong by meeting Congress president Sonia Gandhi and accepting a nominated position in the upper house. At the other end of the spectrum, critics say the 39-year-old icon has sold his soul to the ruling Congress. Some take a middle path, saying he was merely a pawn in the hands of others trying to feather their own political nest.

The fact is that nominated MPs do not play any political role in the Rajya Sabha.

The Constitution of India merely visualises them as persons who would bring to the House a voice from an area in which they might have excelled themselves.

Of course, there have been exceptions to this norm — even in recent times. The Congress’ own Mani Shankar Aiyar, for instance, was nominated to the upper house after having lost the 2009 Lok Sabha election on a party ticket.

In the case of Tendulkar, the depth of hostility and dismay that the social media is displaying over his nomination shows the degree of distorted perceptions of politics. Many, it seems, are bothered by the “horrible prospect” of a genteel willow-wielding cricketer turning into a loud-mouthed khadi-wearing monster.