Cricketer Sachin Tendulkar has been nominated to the Rajya Sabha and close on the heels of his entry into the upper house of the Parliament, an RTI has been filed seeking to know if an MP is allowed to endorse and advertise for products in his personal capacity.
However, film stars nominated to the RS have always been active in their filmi careers. But it is being felt that there is a huge difference between film stars playing a character in films and a member endorsing a commercial product.
Citing conflict of interest, an advocate has filed an RTI in the President’s office demanding to know if Tendulkar would continue to advertise despite being nominated to the Upper House. In quick response, President’s office forwarded the RTI to the Rajya Sabha, which in turn forwarded a copy to the Lok Sabha for its response.
The answer will not only clarify Tendulkar’s case, it will also spell out its applicability to all MPs as whether they can endorse commercial products rather than playing character roles in advertisements.
It will surely clear the air on how the Parliament deals with issues of conflict of interest.
