Rajya Sabha MP and musician Ilaiyaraaja has not attended even a single day during the winter session of Parliament, which is also his first session after being nominated as an MP (Member of Parliament). The veteran music composer was nominated to the Rajya Sabha by the President on July 6, 2022.
According to the Rajya Sabha website, after his oath-taking ceremony conducted in July, 2022, Ilaiyaraaja has not participated in any debates. The 13-day winter session in December, 2022 shows that he was not present in the House even once.
In the month of July, four persons from south India were nominated to the Rajya Sabha - Ilaiyaraaja from Tamil Nadu, athlete PT Usha from Kerala, Telugu screenwriter Vijayendra Prasad and Dharmasthala president Veerendra Heggade. While PT Usha was present at the session on all 13 days, Veerendra Heggade was present for five days and Vijayendra Prasad on two days.
Ilaiyaraaja is a prolific composer, lyricist, conductor and occasional singer, and has composed more than 7,000 songs in over 1,400 movies, primarily in Tamil. He has also worked in Malayalam, Telugu and Hindi cinema. Fondly known as Maestro, he has received five national awards, three for best music direction and two for best background score. He was awarded the Padma Bhushan and the Padma Vibhushan, the third and second highest civilian awards given by the Government of India.
Ilaiyaraaja’s nomination to the Raja Sabha was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media, where he shared a photo of the music composer.
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. pic.twitter.com/VH6wedLByC
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 6, 2022