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New Delhi: India's star athlete PT Usha, iconic composer Ilaiyaraaja, Philanthropist Veerendra Heggade, and Film Director & screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad Garu have been nominated for Rajya Sabha.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi shared the same on Twitter and congratulated the nominees, who are from the southern state.
Usha is from Kerala, Ilaiyaraaja hails from Tamil Nadu, Heggade belongs to Karnataka and Prasad is from Andhra Pradesh.
"The remarkable PT Usha Ji is an inspiration for every Indian. Her accomplishments in sports are widely known but equally commendable is her work to mentor budding athletes over the last several years. Congratulations to her on being nominated to the Rajya Sabha," Prime Minister Narendra Modi said on Twitter.
In 1980, at the age of 16, PT Usha competed in the Summer Olympics in Moscow. Four years later, in 1984, she became the first Indian woman athlete to reach the final of an Olympic Games.
Usha is popularly known as the 'Payyoli Express' and has won a medal for the country at various international sporting events.
On the other hand, Ilaiyaraaja is regarded as one of India's greatest music composers. Since he was born in a Dalit household in a village in the Madurai district, he had to face innumerable hardships and caste-based discrimination. However, he managed to overcome all those hurdles and became the country's leading music composer.
He has composed over 7,000 songs for more than 1,000 films and performed in more than 20,000 concerts across the globe during his career.
The government also honored him with the Padma Vibhusan award and Padma Bhusan.
"The creative genius of @ilaiyaraaja Ji has enthralled people across generations. His works beautifully reflect many emotions. What is equally inspiring is his life journey- he rose from a humble background and achieved so much. Glad that he has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha," Modi said.
Veerendra Heggade was born on November 25, 1948, in Karnataka and is known for carrying forward the nearly six hundred-year-old traditions of the Jain community. Not only this, but he has also made a significant contribution to the promotion of art and culture.
Reportedly, 400 high schools and primary teachers affiliated with the shrine for the spread of naturopathy, yoga, and moral education teach 30,000 students in these subjects every year.
Vijayendra Prasad is one of the great writers of Hindi cinema. He is the father of famous Southern film director SS Rajamouli. He has penned the scripts of many prominent Telugu and Hindi movies. His notable works include some of the highest-grossing Indian movies such as RRR, Baahubali, and Bajrangi Bhaijaan.
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