Legendary athlete PT Usha and music maestro Ilaiyaraaja were among prominent personalties nominated to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday.
Philanthropist and administrator of the Dharmasthala temple, Veerendra Heggade, and noted screen writer V Vijayendra Prasad were also nominated to the Upper House of Parliament.
"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.
He also shared his pictures with Usha and Ilaiyaraaja along with his congratulatory messages in separate tweets.
"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.
The Rajya Sabha had vacancies in the nominated category.