Will 100-century man Sachin Tendulkar sit on seat number 100 in Rajya Sabha?
This question was posed by quizmaster-turned-politician Derek O’Brien on Thursday shortly after the 39-year-old batting maestro was recommended by Government for nomination as a member of the House of Elders.
Mr. O’Brien of the Trinamool Congress said that eminent industry expert Ashok Ganguly, a former Chairman of Hindustan Lever Limited (HLL) who has been allotted seat number 100 in Rajya Sabha, had told him he was ready to shift his seat for the cricket icon.
“Currently seat number 100 in Rajya S is Ashok Ganguly fmr Chairman HLL. He just told me he’ll move to a nearby seat and give @sachin_rt 100,” he tweeted. Mr. Ganguly was nominated to the Upper House in 2009.
The Rajya Sabha nomination was also dubbed as a belated birthday gift for the cricket icon.
Tendulkar, who turned 39 on Tuesday, had to wait for more than one year to move from 99 hundreds to the landmark 100th international century before finally achieving it in an Asia Cup match against Bangladesh on March 1.
Mr. O’Brien also said Rajya Sabha will now have two former India captains.
“Hockey got there before cricket! Dilip Tirkey sworn in yesterday...now Tendulkar,” he said in another tweet.
There was light-hearted quips in cyberspace which was also abuzz on how a “young” 39-year-old can be in the House of Elders.
The 53-year-old Mr. O’Brien also chipped in saying “I am not elderly too !!”.
The tweets on the master blaster’s nomination were not without their share of sarcastic comments.
“If Sachin is going to be a Congress nominee, S&P might downgrade his God status,” said another tweet. Global credit ratings major Standard and Poor’s(S&P) yesterday revised the outlook on India’s long-term credit rating to “negative” from “stable”.
“If Sachin wishes to keep his ‘Mr Clean’ image intact, rejecting his nomination to Rajya Sabha would be a prudent move,” tweeted Sharnarthee.
