President nominates Classical dancer Sonal Mansingh to Rajya Sabha

On July 14, Classical dancer Sonal Mansingh, columnist Rakesh Sinha, Sculptor Raghunath Mohapatra and farmer leader Ram Shakal have been nominated by the President Ram Nath Kovind to the Rajya Sabha. The new nominations have been made to fill the vacancies caused due to the retirement of nominated members Sachin Tendulkar, Rekha, Anu Aga and K Parasaran. Under Article 80 of the Constitution, the President can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha “from amongst persons who have special knowledge or practical experience in respect of such matters as literature, science, art and social service.” The nominated members have six-year term. The other sitting nominated members include boxer Mary Kom, columnist Swapan Dasgupta, advocate K.T.S. Tulsi, economist Narendra Jadhav and BJP members Subramanian Swamy, Roopa Ganguly, Suresh Gopi and Sambhaji Chhatrapati.