PM tells Tendulkar: cricket's loss will be a gain for Parliament

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh told cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar that the game’s loss would prove to be a gain for the Parliament. Singh’s comments came when Tendulkar went up to greet him in the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the Monsoon session.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Monday told cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar that the game’s loss would prove to be a gain for the Parliament.

Singh’s comments came when Tendulkar went up to greet him in the Rajya Sabha on the first day of the Monsoon session.

Tendulkar, who was nominated to the upper house in April last year, along with actress Rekha and businesswoman Anu Aga, attended the upper house for the second time Monday.

Sachin Tendulkar with other members in the Rajya Sabha in New Delhi on the first day of monsoon session. PTI Photo/TV grab

He had earlier attended the House proceedings only once in the monsoon session of 2012. The cricketer entered the House accompanied by wife Anjali and minister of state for parliamentary affairs, Rajeev Shukla.

When the House was adjourned in the morning, Tendulkar went around shaking hands with fellow MPs before he greeted the Prime Minister.

It was at this juncture that Shukla told Singh that since Tendulkar had decided to stop playing one day internationals and would only be playing test matches, he would be seen more often in parliament. The Prime Minister responded by saying that “the loss of cricket would be a gain for the parliament.”

Tendulkar also thumped the desk when Chairman Hamid Ansari congratulated the Indian cricket team for winning the Champions Trophy.

Here's how twitterati reacted to Sachin's Parliament innings: