MUMBAI: President Pratibha Patil has approved the nominations of veteran actress Rekha and Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar for the Upper House of the Indian Parliament – Rajya Sabha.

Sachin, who would be the first sportsperson to join the Rajya Sabha and the only cricketer to be nominated for it, has accepted this offer in a meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Congress President Sonia Gandhi. Congress MP, Sandeep Dixit said to a daily, "Sachin would look great in Rajya Sabha."

Rekha, who has given some memorable performances in films "Silsila","Umrao Jaan" and "Zubeidaa", has also accepted the nomination, and will join the likes of lyricist Javed Akhtar and actress Jaya Bachchan as the member of the Upper House. Film celebrities who have been a part of Rajya Sabha earlier include Nargis, Hema Malini, Lata Mangeshkar and Vyjayantimala.

"I am happy that Rekha has made it to the privileged group of Rajya Sabha members. It is no ordinary achievement for her. I am more happy because she belongs to our fraternity and they felt her worthy enough to be nominated," said Producer Mahesh Bhatt to the media.