Recently, the author and former chairperson of Infosys Foundation, Sudha Murthy revealed about the news of her nomination to Rajya Sabha, the upper House of the Parliament of India. For her, it came as a big surprise and she holds that it comes as a 'great responsibility'.

Speaking to the journalists over the phone from Thailand, Murthy said, 'The Prime Minister called me last night and broke the news. This is a huge responsibility. I am grateful to the PM for this opportunity to serve my country and the people. I will do my level best to live up to their expectations.

Murty is in Thailand right now on account of an invitation of 'Kannada Sangha' at the Asian Institute of Technology to deliver a speech.

On March 8th, International Women's Day, PM took it to X, that the President of India nominated Murty to the Upper House of the Parliament.

As a constitutional power, the President can nominate 12 members to the Rajya Sabha for their contribution to art, literature, science and social service.

Hence, Sudha Murty fills the lone vacant seat under the nominated category in the Upper House. The seat had been vacant for more than 21 months. Eventually, a philanthropist, engineer and author Sudha Murty was nominated to the House.

PM Modi announced that the presence of Sudha Murty in Rajya Sabha shall be a 'powerful testament to our Nari Shakti'. He has highlighted the strength and potential of women in shaping the destiny of the country. The author's contribution to the society has been immense and inspiring.

She has been delighted with what she was doing earlier and here comes a bigger platform for her and it comes with great challenges and responsibilities. Though, the functioning of the Rajya Sabha is quite a new experience for her.

She adds, 'Mr Murthy, children (Rohan and Akshata) are extremely happy about this. She added that she didn't see this coming her way.'

A nominated member is however allowed to join a political party within the first six months of joining a House. The door to join a political party after nomination remains open for Murty too for six months.

The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution says, 'A nominated member of a House shall be disqualified for being a member of the House shall be disqualified for being a member of the House if he joins any political party after the expiry of six months from the date on which he or she takes his seat after complying with the requirements of Article 99 or as the case may be Article 188.' Both Articles 99 and 188 deal with the provision of taking an oath after being nominated.

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References:

• m.economictimes.com
• timesofindia.indiatimes.com
• indianexpress.com