Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 13
Former Miss India and Bollywood actor Gul Panag today joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and will be its candidate for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.
Senior party leader Manish Sisodia declared Panag’s candidature at a press conference here today.
Speaking on the occasion, Panag said, “You cannot bring change in society just by tweeting on social networking sites. One must be part of politics in the country to cleanse it. I cannot sit neutral and be a fence watcher. If you want to bring a change in the country, you need to jump into the political battlefield.”
Replying to a volley of questions on being a “paratrooper candidate”, Panag said, “I grew up and studied in the City Beautiful. I travelled by CTU buses and more importantly I am ‘Chandigarh’s daughter’. Therefore, there is no question of me being a paratrooper candidate.”
“Chandigarh has been my family’s home ever since my grandfather Shamsher Singh, who served the Army, settled here in 1960. I feel honoured to be the Aam Aadami Party candidate for the Lok Sabha elections from the city. I am delighted to get an opportunity to contribute directly to the welfare of my city and the country,” said Panag.
On rival parties’ alleged tactics of uploading her morphed pictures on social networking sites, Panag said it showed the character of the parties. These pictures were clicked during a magazine photo shoot four or five years ago, which were now being morphed by these parties and uploaded on social networking sites, she said.
Earlier, Jaspal Bhatti’s widow Savita Bhatti was declared the Aam Aadami Party candidate for the Chandigarh seat, but she opted out of the race after reportedly failing to get along with local party activists.
Key issues
Panag said Chandigarh was facing issues similar to those being faced by the country such as dynastic politics, corruption and crony capitalism. She requested the city residents to be part of this movement.
Panag’s take on Bansal
Panag, who will contest against former Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal, said she respected Bansal because he was her father’s schoolmate. However, she said Bansal was with a party which did not bring any positive change in the country. She said she would contest the elections on “merit”.
Wedding anniversary gift!
Incidentally, it was Panag’s wedding anniversary on Thursday. She tweeted late at night, “Forgot it was my wedding anniversary on Thursday”. On March 13, 2011, Panag had tied the knot with her childhood friend Rishi Attari in a low-key ceremony.
Chaos at press conference
An AAP volunteer, Pawan Sharma, who was denied the ticket, raised slogans against the party. He disrupted the press conference. Ultimately, mediapersons sent him out. Commenting on the disruption, Panag said these were brickbats, but she was hopeful that bouquets would also follow.
Source Link: http://www.tribuneindia.com
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