Dharmasthala Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade, 3 others nominated to Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Four prominent persons have been nominated to the Rajya Sabha on Wednesday, July 6.

Philanthropist Dr Veerendra Heggade, screenwriter-director V Vijayendra Prasad, illustrious sportsperson PT Usha and music composer Ilaiyaraaja have been nominated to the upper house of the Indian Parliament.

The four nominated members have had illustrious careers in their respective fields and received national and global recognition for their contributions. They represent various South Indian states and expand the region’s representation in the Rajya Sabha.

Dr Veerendra Heggade has served as the Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple in Karnataka since the tender age of 20.

He has been a devoted philanthropist for more than five decades. He has led various transformative initiatives for rural development and the promotion of self-employment.

He established the Rural Development and Self-Employment Training Institute (RDSETI) to provide awareness about self-employment opportunities and train rural youth. The central government replicated this successful model and established Rural Self Employment Training Institutes (RSETIs) across the country.

He has also conceptualized the Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project, an initiative for inclusive rural development and self-employment in Karnataka. Currently, the project has more than 6 lakh SHGs and over 49 lakh members.

Dr Heggade also heads the Shri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara Educational Trust, which provides quality and affordable education through more than 25 schools and colleges.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi congratulated Dr. Veerendra Heggade on being nominated to the Rajya Sabha.

In a Twitter post, PM Modi wrote: “Shri Veerendra Heggade Ji is at the forefront of outstanding community service. I have had the opportunity to pray at the Dharmasthala Temple and also witness the great work he is doing in health, education and culture. He will certainly enrich Parliamentary proceedings.”

”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.