The
recent nominations to Rajya Sabha (RS) have not gone down too well with many in
the country. Ever since 1952 we have had people from diverse art spheres like Prithvi
Raj Kapoor, Vyjayantimala Bali, Nargis Dutt, Mrinal Sen, Shyam Benegal,
Pandit Ravi Shankar, Shabana Azmi, Lata Mangeshkar, MF Hussain and Hema Malini
as members RS. So why is it that this time when we have Sachin Tendulkar and
Rekha nominated we have this hue and cry? Don’t you think that atleast now
people are having some sense? Its better late than never.
RS is
the upper house of the Parliament of India which has a total of 250 members.
Out of these 12 members with contribution and expertise in art, literature,
social service and science are selected by the President of India. Yes, these
celebrities have excelled and are hence are fit candidates to be nominated. But
the point is not that, it’s whether these people have previously shown interest
in public affairs or they have insights on national issues. There definitely
should be a selection criteria before bringing them on board, nominees should atleast
interviewed or their writings should be evaluated or their intelligence
quotient should be tested. After all we need more substance than glamour.
In our
country where there are a huge chunk of cricket or film crazy population who
lack gray matter. Parties nominate such popular celebrities in anticipation of
gaining popularity. If the nomination is a mark of respect then why make them
MPs at the cost of the public money? Show them admiration by conferring them
with other national honors (Padma Bhushan, Bharat Ratna etc) which are
abundant.
If past
data can portrait any trends, then attendance of these nominated celebrities
has always inclined to the lower side. There has been no significant
participation in any of the house debates too. So why have these unelected show
pieces to adorn the house with a pretty face or tote up the glitz? After all it
is all at our expense, the ever exploited public.
An
intriguing question is that can twelve people make any difference? Well if
chosen person has the passion, dedication, intelligence and commitment, they
can be pretty influential because of their popularity. Anyone from any
profession has the liberty to go into politics. So why pick on stars in
particular? It is high time we
relook and revamp electing RS members and evaluate whether the 12 fancy nominations
are really needed?
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ReplyDeleteit is better always to select some people who has shown their dedication for their country and remained hero to people like us...sachin is the person for whom not only INDIA but rest of the world came to know we can also play on their ground...yes..we can fight..............we can rule fast bowlers..we have some one who can show us dream..amke the dream come true............not sure how much he l excel but better choice than so called "budhijibi" in our society......for rekha...she is evergreen.full of mist,played quality substance role,never got what she deserved..at least she spoke less.did much.......think she l atleast try............
ReplyDeleteI agree that based on Sachin's contribution to the cricket, his selection is fine. But I certainly don't like the timing. He should not be an RS member when he is playing cricket actively. He should have accept it only after retirement of cricket.
DeleteI don't think there is an issue with reservation of 12 seats for prominent citizen of the country. In fact I welcome this reservation. At lest we can expect 12 non-corrupt RS member. What is important here is the selection process and criterion. I'd would love to see people having sound social service background are selected for those reserve seat. People who have already made an direct impact to the society, people.
ReplyDelete