Ilaiyaraaja, PT Usha, Veerendra Heggade, Vijayendra Prasad nominated to RS; PM congratulates

President Ram Nath Kovind on Wednesday nominated music maestro Ilaiyaraaja, retired track and field athlete PT Usha, philanthropist Veerendra Heggade and noted screenwriter-director, V Vijayendra Prasad, to Rajya Sabha. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to congratulate the nominees. Rajya Sabha has 245 seats. Of these, 233 members are elected and 12 members are appointed by the President of India. As per the constitutional limit, the strength of the House cannot exceed 250. President chooses and appoints the twelve nominees for the Rajya Sabha. They might be people who have significantly contributed to the fields of social science, literature, art, or social work. The Vice President of India serves as the ex-officio Chairman of the Rajya Sabha. Rajya Sabha had vacancies in the nominated category. Out of the 12, five have been already nominated. This includes the names of former CJI Ranjan Gogoi, noted lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani, classical dancer Dr. Sonal Mansingh, BJP leader Ram Shakal, and Rashtriya Swayam Sewak Sangh (RSS) ideologue, and Delhi University professor Rakesh Sinha.