President Droupadi Murmu on Monday nominated Satnam Singh Sandhu, India's one of the leading educationists and the founder of Chandigarh University, to the Rajya Sabha.
On Monday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) notified elections for 56 Rajya Sabha seats that will be held on February 27.
"In exercise of the powers conferred by sub-clause (a) of clause (1) of article 80 of the Constitution of India, read with clause (3) of that article, the President is pleased to nominate Shri Satnam Singh Sandhu to the Council of States to fill the vacancy caused due to the retirement of one of the nominated members," an official circular released on Tuesday read.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday congratulated Sandhu. Extending heartiest congratulations to him, PM Modi tweeted, “I am delighted that Rashtrapati Ji has nominated Shri Satnam Singh Sandhu Ji to the Rajya Sabha. Satnam Ji has distinguished himself as a noted educationist and social worker, who has been serving people at the grassroots in different ways. He has always worked extensively to further national integration and has also worked with the Indian diaspora. I wish him the very best for his Parliamentary journey and am confident the Rajya Sabha proceedings will be enriched by his views,” PM Modi wrote on X.
Who is Satnam Singh Sandhu?
The son of a farmer in Punjab, Satnam Singh Sandhu is one of India's leading educationists and an agriculturist. Back in 2001, Sandhu founded Chandigarh Group of Colleges (CGC) at Landran in Mohali while in 2012, he founded Chandigarh University.
While growing up, Sandhu encountered many hardships and struggled a lot to pursue studies which in later life became the reason behind his attachment to philosophy. Being an advocate of education, Sandhu often extends financial aid to needy students.
Moreover, Sandhu is actively associated with community efforts to upgrade the health and wellness of the masses.
He also runs two NGOs including the Indian Minorities Foundation and New India Development (NID) Foundation to support communal harmony in the country.
