The president has nominated 4 members to the Rajya Sabha today under article 80 of the constitution. All the four names raised eyebrows but were expected. Three of them are members of bjp and two of them were official candidates in the parliament elections last year. Professor Meenakshi Jain is known for her historiography blooming late in her career during the current regime after her retirement. The Rajya Sabha also known as the house of elders is meant to serve many functions. It represents the states and therefore is tasked with safeguarding the federal structure. It allows senior political leaders to contribute towards more mature debates on long term issues, without worrying about immediate electoral fallout. It also allows for leading luminaries of social and academic fields to bring in a non partisan perspective to national discourse. The president is therefore authorized to nominate 12 members from various fields To maintain their non partisan position they are debarred from vote of electing or impeaching the president and holding ministerial positions. So the test for nomination is two fold. Leading luminary of their field and nonpartisanship. On the first look non of the members seem to pass the test. Shri Ujjwal Nikam is not known as a legal luminary, rather someone who admitted to lying about terrorist Kasab being fed biryani in custody to malign the upa government. Shri Shringla joined bjp after retiring from the foreign service and master Sadanandan is a victim of political violence from violence prone north Kerala. Professor Jain waited for the current regime to join the Indian council of historical research after her retirement. The bjp could get them elected from any state, given their overwhelming majority in most states. They could then contribute freely towards their ideological leanings without disturbing the constitutional sense of the upper house.
Nominated members should be nonpartisan
