Tendulkar is sworn in as MP, vows to help all sports

Agencies/New Delhi

Sachin Tendulkar is congratulated by Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V Narayanasamy after being sworn in as an MP yesterday

Cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar was sworn in as a member of the upper house of parliament yesterday, but he vowed to put his on-field performance before any political activity. Tendulkar, who is worshipped by millions of avid cricket fans in India, was appointed to the Rajya Sabha for a seat theoretically reserved for people who distinguish themselves in the fields of arts, science or social service. He was nominated along with film personality Rekha and industrialist Anu Aga in April this year. “It is an honour which I accept with full respect but I am here because of my cricketing career,” he said after the low-key ceremony. “I cannot take any focus away from my cricket because that is where it all started for me.” Tendulkar, 39, is one of the world’s leading one-day international and Test match players and he competed in the recent Indian Premier League season. He is the first active sportsman to serve in India’s upper house and yesterday he repeated that he had no immediate plans to retire. “I am in a better position not only to help cricket but also other sports in the country,” he said. “I would be happy if I am remembered (as) someone who has contributed to all sports in India rather than just my cricket statistics.” Tendulkar has previously been careful to steer well clear of India’s often bitter political world, and it remains unclear how much he will participate in parliament after his playing days are over. “I believe there will be a few obstacles along the way, and I will need (help) from my fellow parliamentarians, the administrators, media and our countrymen. Together we can make a lot of changes,” he said.When he was nominated in April, the Times of India said the gesture made “little sense” while some opposition lawmakers accused the government of crass populist politics. Om Mathur, a member of parliament for the main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, said at the time that Tendulkar was being used by the ruling Congress Party to boost its support in the cricketer’s home state of Maharashtra. Tendulkar is the world’s highest run-scorer in both Test and one-day cricket and in March became the first batsman to complete 100 international centuries - 51 in Tests and 49 in one-dayers. The cricketing world first took notice of the child prodigy when, aged 17 and playing only his ninth Test, he hit a match-saving 119 not out against England at Old Trafford in 1990. Since then he has been revered in India as a demi-god and has lived with the intense pressure of the cricket-obsessed public believing that every time he comes in to bat he will win the game for his team. Despite such challenges, the “master blaster” has retained a reputation as an honest and humble family man who is involved in a variety of charity work. His only weakness is said to be an insatiable love of fast cars which he reportedly drives around the streets of Mumbai in the early hours to avoid attracting attention. Tendulkar was sworn in on yesterday by Hamid Ansari, India’s vice president and the chairman of the upper house, in presence of the cricketer’s wife Anjali and lawmakers who presented him with a yellow silk shawl after the ceremony. Of the 250 members in the Rajya Sabha, 12 are nominated by the president for “special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.” The soft-spoken cricketer has previously been considered for the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian honour. Tendulkar is the fourth cricketer now in the Indian parliament.But unlike him, the other three are in the lower house Lok Sabha: Mohamed Azharuddin (Moradabad), Navjot Singh Sidhu (Amritsar) and Kirti Azad (Darbhanga).Tendulkar is the first cricketer to enter parliament while still playing the game.Tendulkar and Azharuddin are both former India captains. While Azharuddin is in the Congress, Sidhu and Azad are from the BJP.Former India opener Chetan Chauhan was twice elected to the Lok Sabha from Amroha on a BJP ticket.Among the cricketers who contested elections but lost are Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi and Manoj Prabhakar.